asexuality
|a-sex-u-al-i-ty|
🇺🇸
/ˌeɪsɛkˈʃuːəlɪti/
🇬🇧
/ˌeɪsɛkˈʃuəlɪti/
absence of sexual attraction or sexual reproduction
Etymology
'asexuality' originates from Modern English formation combining the prefix 'a-' (from Greek 'a-', meaning 'not' or 'without') and the noun 'sexuality' (from French/Latin), where Latin 'sexus' meant 'sex'.
'asexuality' was formed in English from 'asexual' + the suffix '-ity'; 'sexual' comes via French 'sexuel/sexualité' from Latin 'sexus', and the privative prefix 'a-' derives from Greek 'a-'.
Initially the components conveyed 'not' + 'sex'; over time the compound came to denote either absence of sexual attraction (social/identity sense) or reproduction without sex (biological sense).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a sexual orientation or identity characterized by little or no sexual attraction to others; the state of experiencing little or no sexual desire.
Many people identify with asexuality on the spectrum of sexual orientations.
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Noun 2
in biology, reproduction without the fusion of gametes; asexual reproduction (e.g., budding, binary fission, vegetative propagation).
Some plants and microorganisms reproduce by asexuality, allowing rapid population increase.
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Last updated: 2025/08/19 16:38