heterosexuality

noun

"heterosexuality" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heterosexuality” is an uncommon English word, ranked #51,755 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#51,755
frequency rank, English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The state of being sexually and romantically attracted primarily or exclusively to persons of the opposite sex.

Key facts for heterosexuality
PropertyValue
Headwordheterosexuality
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Frequency rank#51,755
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “heterosexuality” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). heterosexuality lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for heterosexuality is 15 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #51,755 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for heterosexuality in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From heterosexual + -ity or hetero- + sexuality. The correct English form is heterosexuality, spelled H-E-T-E-R-O-S-E-X-U-A-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being sexually and romantically attracted primarily or exclusively to persons of the opposite sex.
  2. 2
    Sexual activity with a person of the opposite sex.

Etymology

From heterosexual + -ity or hetero- + sexuality.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heterosexuality"?
"heterosexuality" is spelled H-E-T-E-R-O-S-E-X-U-A-L-I-T-Y.
What does "heterosexuality" mean?
As a noun, "heterosexuality" means: The state of being sexually and romantically attracted primarily or exclusively to persons of the opposite sex.
What is the origin of the word "heterosexuality"?
From heterosexual + -ity or hetero- + sexuality. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “heterosexuality”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-E-T-E-R-O-S-E-X-U-A-L-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list