asexual
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /eɪˈsɛkʃuəl/
Adjective

asexual (not comparable)

  1. Nonsexual in nature, unmarked by sexual activity. (Compare Platonic.)
    • 2004, Martha Vicinus, Intimate Friends: women who loved women, 1778-1928, page 150:
      The central paradox of Linton's writing was her inability, or unwillingness, to imagine an asexual friendship between women.
  2. Not experiencing sexual attraction; lacking interest in or desire for sex.
    • 2010, Jerrold S. Greenberg, Clint E. Bruess, Sarah C. Conklin, Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality, fourth edition, pages 357–358:
      Many asexual people experience attraction, but feel no need to act out that attraction sexually. Because they don't see a lack of sexual arousal as a problem to be corrected, asexual people focus their energy on enjoying other types of arousal and pleasure.
  3. (biology) Lacking distinct sex, lacking sexual organs.
  4. (biology) Without sexual action; reproducing by some other method than sex.
    asexual reproduction
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Noun

asexual (plural asexuals)

  1. (biology) A species which reproduces by asexual rather than sexual reproduction, or a member of such a species.
    • 2009, Isa Schön, Giampaolo Rossetti, Koen Martens, Darwinulid Ostracods: Ancient Asexual Scandals or Scandalous Gossip?, published as Chapter 11 of Lost Sex: The Evolutionary Biology of Parthenogenesis, Isa Schön, Koen Martens, Peter van Dijk (editors), page 221:
      11.2 Demonstrating the Status of Long-Lived Asexuals
      [...] Indeed, if sex has so many advantages, then which special adaptations - if any - allow long-term survival without it? However, the main task of the research teams dealing with such putative ancient asexuals has thus far been to demonstrate that their respective groups (mainly bdelloids, darwinulids and certain lineages within orbatid mites) indeed merit the status.
  2. A person who does not experience sexual attraction; a person who lacks interest in or desire for sex.
  3. (rare) Something which does not have a sex, or a word which refers to such a thing.
    • 1936, The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, volume 35, page 323:
      […] The masculine forms are used to a considerable extent in congruence with etymologically masculine nouns; also with etymologically feminine asexuals; e.g. se stefn L 9, 36; [...] The neuter forms are used with etymologically neuter nouns; with etymologically masculine asexuals; e.g. þ cyrtil L 6, 29; J 19, 23; þ penning L 20, 24; bēam (Lindelof p. 9) ; stān (Lindelof p. 11); and with etymologically feminine asexuals; e.g. [...]
Antonyms


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