asexual

English

Etymology

From a- (“lacking, without”) +‎ -sexual.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /eɪˈsɛk.ʃuː.əl/, /eɪˈsɛk.sjuː.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /eɪˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkʃuːəl
• Hyphenation: a‧sex‧u‧al

Adjective

asexual (not comparable)

1. Nonsexual in nature, unmarked by sexual activity.

   Coordinate term: 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. (especially of a person) Not experiencing sexual attraction; lacking interest in or desire for sex.

   Synonyms: (slang) ace, (slang) asexy, a-spec

   • 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.

   • 2021 March 21, Jamie Waters, “‘I don’t want sex with anyone’: the growing asexuality movement”, in The Observer‎^[1]:

     Benoit is determined to ensure other asexual (or “ace”) people don’t feel broken or alone in a world in which lust and desire pulsate through our entire culture.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:asexual.
3. (biology) Lacking distinct sex, lacking sexual organs.

   Synonym: epicene

4. (biology) Without sexual action; reproducing by some other method than sex.

   asexual reproduction

Antonyms

• allosexual

Coordinate terms

• (sexual orientations) sexual orientation; asexual (-ity, ace), bisexual (-ity, bi), demisexual (-ity, demi), graysexual (-ity), heterosexual (-ity, straight), homosexual (-ity, gay, lesbian), omnisexual (-ity), pansexual (-ity, pan), polysexual (-ity), sapiosexual (-ity), androsexual (-ity), gynesexual (-ity) ^{(Category: en:Sexual orientations)}

Derived terms

• ace
• asexual division
• asexualise
• asexualism
• asexualist
• asexuality
• asexualization
• asexualize
• asexually
• asexual reproduction
• asexual spore
• asexy
• bi-asexual
• gray asexual

 

Translations

having no interest in sex

• Bengali: নিষ্কামী (niśkami)
• Bulgarian: а́сексуа́лен m (áseksuálen)
• Danish: aseksuel
• Dutch: aseksueel (nl)
• Esperanto: neseksema
• Finnish: epäseksuaalinen
• French: asexuel (fr)
• Galician: asexual
• Georgian: ასექსუალური (aseksualuri)
• German: asexuell (de)
• Greek: ασεξουαλικός (el) (asexoualikós), άφυλος (el) (áfylos), άγαμος (el) (ágamos)
• Hindi: अलैंगिक (alaiṅgik)
• Hungarian: aszexuális (hu)
• Italian: asessuale (it), asessuato (it)
• Maori: hōkakakore
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: aseksuell

  Nynorsk: aseksuell

• Polish: aseksualny (pl)
• Portuguese: assexual (pt)
• Romanian: asexual (ro)
• Russian: асексуа́льный (ru) (aseksuálʹnyj)
• Sicilian: asissuali, asissuatu
• Slovak: asexuálny (sk)
• Spanish: asexual (es)
• Swedish: asexuell (sv)
• Turkish: aseksüel (tr)

without sexual action

• Arabic: لَاجِنْسِيّ m (lājinsiyy), لَاجِنْسِيَّة f (lājinsiyya)
• Dutch: aseksueel (nl)
• Esperanto: neseksa
• Finnish: suvuton (fi)
• French: asexué (fr), asexuel (fr)
• Galician: asexual m or f
• Greek: άφυλος (el) (áfylos), άγαμος (el) (ágamos)
• Hungarian: aszexuális (hu), ivartalan (hu)
• Icelandic: kynlaus
• Italian: asessuale (it), asessuato (it)
• Kazakh: асексуалдық (aseksualdyq)
• Manx: neucheintyssagh
• Maori: tōkaikore
• Portuguese: assexual (pt)
• Romanian: asexual (ro)
• Russian: беспо́лый (ru) (bespólyj)
• Sicilian: asissuali, asissuatu
• Slovak: nesexuálny
• Spanish: asexual (es)
• Tagalog: awansariin
• Turkish: aseksüel (tr)

having no distinct sex

• Belarusian: бяспло́цевы (bjasplócjevy), бяспо́лы (bjaspóly)
• Bulgarian: безпо́лов (bg) (bezpólov)
• Czech: bezpohlavní
• Danish: ukønnet, aseksuel
• Dutch: geslachtloos (nl), aseksueel (nl)
• Esperanto: neseksa
• Finnish: sukupuoleton, aseksuaalinen (fi)
• French: asexué (fr), asexuel (fr)
• Galician: asexuado m
• German: geschlechtslos (de)
• Greek: άφυλος (el) (áfylos)
• Hungarian: aszexuális (hu), ivartalan (hu)
• Icelandic: kynlaus
• Italian: asessuato (it)
• Japanese: 無性の (ja) (むせいの, musei no)
• Kazakh: жыныссыз (jynyssyz)
• Macedonian: бесполен (bespolen)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ukjønnet, aseksuell

  Nynorsk: ukjønna, aseksuell

• Polish: bezpłciowy (pl)
• Portuguese: assexuado (pt)
• Russian: беспо́лый (ru) (bespólyj)
• Sicilian: asissuatu
• Slovak: asexuálny (sk), bezpohlavný, nepohlavný
• Tagalog: asog
• Turkish: aseksüel (tr)
• Ukrainian: безстате́вий (uk) (bezstatévyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} asesswali
• Portuguese: assexual (pt)
• Spanish: asexual (es)

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

• allosexual

Translations

biology

a person who does not experience sexual attraction

• Polish: aseksualista m, aseksualistka f
• Russian: асексуали́ст (ru) m (aseksualíst), асексуа́л (ru) m (aseksuál)
• Spanish: asexual (es) m or f by sense
• Ukrainian: асексуа́л m (aseksuál)

something which does not have a sex

• Polish: (of people) aseksualista m, (of people) aseksualistka f

Usage notes

• Asexual (in the sense of lacking sexual attraction or desire) should not be confused with hyposexual (see usage notes at hyposexuality) or non-libidoist.

See also

• (romantic orientations) romantic orientation; aromantic (-ism), biromantic (-ism), demiromantic (-ism), heteroromantic (-ism), homoromantic (-ism), panromantic (-ism), transromantic ^{(Category: en:Romantic orientations)}
• fission, gemmation

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.sək.suˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.sek.suˈal]

Adjective

asexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural asexuals)

1. asexual

Noun

asexual m or f by sense (plural asexuals)

1. asexual

Antonyms

• sexual

Related terms

• asexualitat

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /asekˈswal/ [a.s̺ekˈs̺wɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

asexual m or f (plural asexuais)

1. asexual

Noun

asexual m or f by sense (plural asexuais)

1. asexual

Antonyms

• sexual

Further reading

• “asexual”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

German

Etymology

a +‎ sexual.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

asexual (strong nominative masculine singular asexualer, not comparable)

1. (uncommon) asexual

Declension

Positive forms of asexual (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist asexual	sie ist asexual	es ist asexual	sie sind asexual
strong declension (without article)	nominative	asexualer	asexuale	asexuales	asexuale
	genitive	asexualen	asexualer	asexualen	asexualer
	dative	asexualem	asexualer	asexualem	asexualen
	accusative	asexualen	asexuale	asexuales	asexuale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der asexuale	die asexuale	das asexuale	die asexualen
	genitive	des asexualen	der asexualen	des asexualen	der asexualen
	dative	dem asexualen	der asexualen	dem asexualen	den asexualen
	accusative	den asexualen	die asexuale	das asexuale	die asexualen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein asexualer	eine asexuale	ein asexuales	(keine) asexualen
	genitive	eines asexualen	einer asexualen	eines asexualen	(keiner) asexualen
	dative	einem asexualen	einer asexualen	einem asexualen	(keinen) asexualen
	accusative	einen asexualen	eine asexuale	ein asexuales	(keine) asexualen

Related terms

• asexuell

Further reading

• “asexual” in Duden online
• “asexual” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English asexual. Equivalent to a- +‎ sexual.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [aseksuˈal]

Adjective

asexual m or n (feminine singular asexuală, masculine plural asexuali, feminine and neuter plural asexuale)

1. asexual

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	asexual		asexuală		asexuali	asexuale
	definite	asexualul		asexuala		asexualii	asexualele
genitive- dative	indefinite	asexual		asexuale		asexuali	asexuale
	definite	asexualului		asexualei		asexualelor	asexualilor

Noun

asexual m (plural asexuali)

1. asexual

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	asexual	asexualul		asexuali	asexualii
genitive-dative	asexual	asexualului		asexuali	asexualilor
vocative	asexualule			asexualilor

Related terms

• asexualitate

Spanish

Etymology

From a- +‎ sexual.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aseɡˈswal/ [a.seɣ̞ˈswal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: a‧se‧xual

Adjective

asexual m or f (masculine and feminine plural asexuales)

1. asexual

Derived terms

• asexualidad
• asexualmente
• reproducción asexual

 

Noun

asexual m or f by sense (plural asexuales)

1. asexual

Further reading

• “asexual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10