Standard Lemma guide

bisexuality

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B AY2 S EH0 K SH UW0 AE1 L AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being sexually attracted to members of either sex; experiencing both heterosexual and homosexual attraction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The state of being bisexual (“having both male and female parts or roles”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

sexual activity with both men and women

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sexual activity, sexual practice, sex, sex activity

4

noun

Meaning 4

showing characteristics of both sexes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: androgyny, hermaphroditism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sex, gender, sexuality

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English bisexual Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English bisexuality From bisexual + -ity.

Across languages

Translations

59 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: biseksuaalisuus — botany
  • Italian: bisessualità — botany
  • Italian: ermafrodismo — botany
  • Malay: kedwijantinaan — botany
  • Romanian: bisexualitate — botany
  • Russian: двупо́лость (dvupólostʹ) — botany
  • Slovak: obojpohlavnosť — botany
  • Swedish: bisexualitet — botany
  • Armenian: երկսեռականություն (erkseṙakanutʻyun) — psychology
  • Azerbaijani: biseksuallıq — psychology
  • Belarusian: бісексуа́льнасць (bisjeksuálʹnascʹ) — psychology
  • Belarusian: бісэксуа́льнасць (biseksuálʹnascʹ) — psychology
  • Bengali: উভকামিতা (ubhkamita) — psychology
  • Bulgarian: бисексуа́лност (biseksuálnost) — psychology
  • Bulgarian: дво́йна резба́ (dvójna rezbá) — psychology
  • Catalan: bisexualitat — psychology
  • Chinese: 雙性戀 /双性恋 (siang-sèng-loân) — psychology
  • Chinese: 兩性戀 /两性恋 (nn̄g-sèng-loân) — psychology
  • Chinese: 兩性愛 /两性爱 (nn̄g-sèng-ài) — psychology
  • Chinese Mandarin: 雙性戀 /双性恋 (shuāngxìngliàn) — psychology
  • Dutch: biseksualiteit — psychology
  • Esperanto: ambaŭseksemo — psychology
  • Finnish: biseksuaalisuus — psychology
  • French: bisexualité — psychology
  • Galician: bisexualidade — psychology
  • Georgian: ბისექსუალობა (biseksualoba) — psychology
  • German: Bisexualität — psychology
  • Greek: αμφιφυλοφιλία (amfifylofilía) — psychology
  • Greenlandic: suiaassutsinut tamanoortoq — psychology
  • Hindi: उभयलैंगिकता (ubhaylaiṅgiktā) — psychology
  • Hungarian: biszexualitás — psychology
  • Icelandic: tvíkynhneigð — psychology
  • Indonesian: biseksualitas — psychology
  • Italian: bisessualità — psychology
  • Japanese: 両性愛 (ryōseiai) — psychology
  • Kazakh: бисексуалдық (biseksualdyq) — psychology
  • Kazakh: бисексуалдылық (biseksualdylyq) — psychology
  • Korean: 양성애 (yangseong'ae) — psychology
  • Norman: bisexualité — psychology
  • Norwegian: bisexualitet — psychology
  • Persian: دوجنسگرایی (do-jens-garâyi) — psychology
  • Polish: biseksualizm — psychology
  • Portuguese: bissexualidade — psychology
  • Romanian: bisexualitate — psychology
  • Russian: бисексуа́льность (bisɛksuálʹnostʹ) — psychology
  • Northern Sami: biseksualitehta — psychology
  • Scottish Gaelic: dà-ghnèitheachd — psychology
  • Serbo-Croatian: бисексуалност — psychology
  • Serbo-Croatian: biseksualnost — psychology
  • Slovak: bisexualita — psychology
  • Spanish: bisexualidad — psychology
  • Swedish: bisexualitet — psychology
  • Tajik: дуҷинсгароӣ (dujinsgaroyi) — psychology
  • Tamil: இருபாலீர்ப்பு (irupālīrppu) — psychology
  • Tamil: இருபால்சேர்க்கை (irupālcērkkai) — psychology
  • Turkish: biseksüellik — psychology
  • Ukrainian: бісексуа́льність (biseksuálʹnistʹ) — psychology
  • Vietnamese: song tính luyến ái — psychology
  • Welsh: deurywioldeb — psychology