pansexual

/pænˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/

//pænˈsɛk.ʃu.əl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pansexual" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pansexual” is uncommon English (frequency #65,382 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,382
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sexually attracted to people regardless of gender.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pansexual · pansexual · English

pansexual · rank #65,382 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,382
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH panoply

Nearest frequency peer: panoply (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “pansexual”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “pansexual” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pansexual
PropertyValue
Headwordpansexual
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pænˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#65,382
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pansexual” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).pansexualfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “panoply” (#65,381), “Pankhurst” (#65,380), “Papuan” (#65,384). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pansexual” is #65,382. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pansexual is uncommon English at frequency #65,382 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /pænˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for pansexual in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pan- + -sexual. First attested in 1926 (with pansexualism attested since 1917), as a descriptor of the psychological theory that all human activity is based on sexuality. Used to describe a sexual orientation since at least the 1970s. The correct English form is pansexual, spelled P-A-N-S-E-X-U-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sexually attracted to people regardless of gender.
  2. 2
    Sexually attracted to everyone.
  3. 3
    Welcoming people of all sexual orientations.
  4. 4
    Pertaining to the psychological theory of pansexualism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pansexual appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Karen and Carlos are definitely pansexual people who have paired off to have this child, and this seems real and good to them now. When I had been with Karen, she had floated through several gay relationships, […] all my friends had been what I would call pansexual, avoiding the older term bisexual, which is meaningless when you can count more than two se…
  2. Obviously many women who answered the survey considered themselves bisexual in the past no longer do. Perceiving oneself as bisexual was often a stage of transition between heterosexuality and homosexuality. But others did consider and still consider themselves bisexual. Here are some stories of bisexual or pansexual women and some comments about [...]

Etymology

From pan- + -sexual. First attested in 1926 (with pansexualism attested since 1917), as a descriptor of the psychological theory that all human activity is based on sexuality. Used to describe a sexual orientation since at least the 1970s.

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 "pansexual"?
"pansexual" is spelled P-A-N-S-E-X-U-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /pænˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/.
What does "pansexual" mean?
As an adjective, "pansexual" means: Sexually attracted to people regardless of gender.
How do you pronounce "pansexual"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pansexual" is /pænˈsɛk.ʃu.əl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pansexual"?
From pan- + -sexual. First attested in 1926 (with pansexualism attested since 1917), as a descriptor of the psychological theory that all human activity is based on sexuality. Used to describe a sexual orientation since at least the 1970s. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pansexual", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Pankhurst#65,380Pistorius#65,406Nyasaland#65,356pygmalion#65,425

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list