Standard Lemma guide

sapiosexual

adj · noun · 2 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.

  • sā′pē-ə-sĕk′sho͞o-əl
  • sā′pē-ō-sĕk′sho͞o-əl
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌseɪ.pi.əˈsɛk.ʃuː.əl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /seɪpiəʊ/
  • General-American: /ˌseɪ.pi.əˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/
  • General-American: /seɪpioʊ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛkʃuəl
  • rhymes with -ɛkʃuːəl

1

adj

Meaning 1

Sexually attracted to intellectual or mental qualities over appearance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person who is sapiosexual.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin sapiens + -o- + -sexual. Coined by Darren Stalder in 1998 to describe his own sexuality.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: sapioseksuel — sexually attracted to intelligence
  • Dutch: sapioseksueel — sexually attracted to intelligence
  • Finnish: sapioseksuaalinen — sexually attracted to intelligence
  • French: sapiosexuel — sexually attracted to intelligence
  • German: sapiosexuell — sexually attracted to intelligence
  • Hungarian: szapioszexuális — sexually attracted to intelligence
  • Spanish: sapiosexual — sexually attracted to intelligence
  • Danish: sapioseksuel — sapiosexual person
  • Dutch: sapioseksueel — sapiosexual person
  • Finnish: sapioseksuaali — sapiosexual person
  • French: sapiosexuel — sapiosexual person
  • German: Sapiosexueller — sapiosexual person
  • German: Sapiosexuelle — sapiosexual person
  • Turkish: sapyoseksüel — sapiosexual person