homosexual
/ˌhɒməʊˈsɛksjuːəl/
"homosexual" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“homosexual” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,863 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #10,863
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sexually and/or romantically attracted to members of the same sex, such as a man who is attracted to men or a woman who is attracted to women; gay. (Typically used in the sense of sole/exclusive at...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | homosexual |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌhɒməʊˈsɛksjuːəl/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #10,863 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “homosexual” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for homosexual is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌhɒməʊˈsɛksjuːəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,863 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for homosexual, with forms such as "hhomosexual", "hmoosexual", and "hommosexual". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German homosexual, from homo- (“same”) + sexual (“relating to sex or sexuality”), coined by Karl Maria Kertbeny in 1868, and popularized in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (2nd ed. 1887, in German) and Charles Gilbert Chaddock… The correct English form is homosexual, spelled H-O-M-O-S-E-X-U-A-L.
Definition
- 1Sexually and/or romantically attracted to members of the same sex, such as a man who is attracted to men or a woman who is attracted to women; gay. (Typically used in the sense of sole/exclusive attraction.)
- 2Between two people of the same sex; gay.
- 3Intended for or used by homosexuals, as a nightclub, a bar, etc.
Etymology
Borrowed from German homosexual, from homo- (“same”) + sexual (“relating to sex or sexuality”), coined by Karl Maria Kertbeny in 1868, and popularized in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (2nd ed. 1887, in German) and Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1892 English translation thereof (compare bisexual), displacing the slightly older term Uranian. Equivalent to homo- + -sexual.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hhomosexual,hmoosexual,hommosexual,homoesxual,homoseuxal,homosexaul,homosexuall,homosexula,homosexxual,homossexual,homosxeual,homsoexual,hoomsexual,ohmosexual
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of homosexual - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "homosexual"?
What does "homosexual" mean?
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Using “homosexual”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-O-M-O-S-E-X-U-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌhɒməʊˈsɛksjuːəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.