sexual

Etymology

From Latin sexuālis, from sexus (“sex”); see sex.

adj

1. Arising from the fact of being male or female; pertaining to sex or gender, or to the social relations between the sexes.
   Women face sexual discrimination in the workplace.
2. (biology) Capable of sexual reproduction; sexed, sexuate.
3. Pertaining to sexual intercourse or other intimate physical contact.
   Giving oral sex is my favorite sexual act.
   One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools[…]as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. 2013-07-19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1
4. Characterised by sexual feelings or behaviour; possessing sexuality.
   She's a very sexual woman.
   We don't often think of Jesus as a sexual person, but He certainly was not asexual. He was not just God on earth. He was fully human and […] He was sexual, single, and celibate. 1994, Purity & passion, page 67
5. Pertaining to sexuality as a cultural phenomenon; relating to sexual behaviour or conduct.
   a sexual innuendo
   one's sexual preferences
6. (LGBT, of a person, rare) Experiencing sexual attraction; not asexual.
   […] “You know, there are asexuals with sexual partners.” His ears flicked, and he grinned. “There's things both of us can try to do[…]” 2016, Kyell Gold, Black Angel, Kyell Gold
   Izzy tells me that at her high school the most useful distinction is not between heterosexuals and homosexuals but between those who are sexual and those who are not. The abstainers call themselves “aces,” short for “asexuals.” 2017, T. T. Monday, Double Switch, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, page 98
7. (obsolete) Pertaining to the female sex.

noun

1. (biology) A species which reproduces by sexual rather than asexual reproduction, or a member of such a species.
2. (LGBT) A person who experiences sexual attraction, a person who has interest in or desire for sex (especially as contrasted with an asexual).
   The findings suggest that asexuality is best conceptualized as a lack of sexual attraction; however, asexuals varied greatly in their experience of sexual response and behavior. Asexuals partnered with sexuals acknowledged having to 'negotiate' sexual activity. 2012, Issues in Sexuality and Sexual Behavior Research: 2011 Edition, ScholarlyEditions
   In this article we use absence of sexual attraction to others as a definition but recognise that this definition is contested. […] [A survey] was also advertised online (without explicitly mentioning asexuality in the advert), thus aiming to reach a mixture of asexuals and sexuals. 2015, Mark Carrigan, Kristina Gupta, Todd G. Morrison, Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology, Routledge, page 11