different between asexual vs sexless

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /e??s?k?u?l/

Adjective

asexual (not comparable)

1. Nonsexual in nature, unmarked by sexual activity. (Compare 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. Not experiencing sexual attraction; lacking interest in or desire for sex.
   • 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.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:asexual.
3. (biology) Lacking distinct sex, lacking sexual organs.
4. (biology) Without sexual action; reproducing by some other method than sex.

   asexual reproduction

Synonyms

• (not experiencing sexual attraction): ace (slang), asexy (slang), hyposexual
• (without sexual features): epicene

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), plurisexual (-ity), polysexual (-ity), robosexual (-ity), sapiosexual (-ity), androsexual (-ity), gynesexual (-ity) ^{(Category: en:Sexual orientations)}

Derived terms

Translations

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; b?am (Lindelof p. 9) ; st?n (Lindelof p. 11); and with etymologically feminine asexuals; e.g. [...]

Antonyms

• allosexual

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

Adjective

asexual (masculine and feminine plural asexuals)

1. asexual

Noun

asexual m or f (plural asexuals)

1. asexual

Antonyms

• sexual

Related terms

• asexualitat

Galician

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

asexual m or f (plural asexuais)

1. asexual

Noun

asexual m or f (plural asexuais)

1. asexual

Antonyms

• sexual

German

Etymology

a +? sexual.

Adjective

asexual (not comparable)

1. (uncommon) asexual

Declension

Related terms

• asexuell

Further reading

• “asexual” in Duden online

Romanian

Etymology

English asexual

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [aseksu?al]

Adjective

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

1. asexual

Declension

Noun

asexual m (plural asexuali)

1. asexual

Declension

Related terms

• asexualitate

Spanish

Etymology

a- +? sexual

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

asexual (plural asexuales)

1. asexual

Derived terms

• asexualidad
• asexualmente

Noun

asexual m or f (plural asexuales)

1. asexual

Further reading

• “asexual” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

From sex +? -less. Compare sexful.

Pronunciation

Adjective

sexless (not comparable)

1. Without sexual activity.
2. Without physical or behavioral sexual distinction.
3. Provoking or showing no sexual desire.

4. Without sex appeal.

Synonyms

• sex-free, sexfree
• (without intimacy): loveless
• (without sexual activity since birth): virgin, virginal
• (without sexual activity by choice): celibate, chaste; asexual

Translations

See also

• genderless