different between sexual vs wanton

English

Etymology

From Latin sexu?lis, from sexus (“sex”); see sex.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?s?k?u?l/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?k?u?l/, /?s?ksju?l/
• Rhymes: -?k?u?l

Adjective

sexual (comparative more sexual, superlative most sexual)

1. Arising from the fact of being male or female; pertaining to sex or gender, or to the social relations between the sexes. [from 17th c.]

2. (biology) Capable of sexual reproduction; sexed, sexuate. [from 19th c.]
3. Pertaining to sexual intercourse or other intimate physical contact. [from 18th c.]

4. Characterised by sexual feelings or behaviour; possessing sexuality. [from 19th c.]
   • 1994, Purity & passion ?ISBN, page 67:

     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.

5. Pertaining to sexuality as a cultural phenomenon; relating to sexual behaviour or conduct. [from 19th c.]

6. (LGBT, of a person, rare) Experiencing sexual attraction; not asexual.

   Synonym: allosexual

   • 2016, Kyell Gold, Black Angel, Kyell Gold (?ISBN):

     […] “You know, there are asexuals with sexual partners.” His ears flicked, and he grinned. “There's things both of us can try to do […] ”

   • 2017, T. T. Monday, Double Switch, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (?ISBN), page 98:

     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.”

7. (obsolete) Pertaining to the female sex. [17th–19th c.]

   Synonym: feminine

Derived terms

Related terms

• sex

Descendants

• Japanese: ????? (sekusharu)

Translations

See also

• See also Thesaurus:copulation

Noun

sexual (plural sexuals)

1. (biology) A species which reproduces by sexual rather than asexual reproduction, or a member of such a species.

   Antonym: asexual

2. (LGBT) A person who experiences sexual attraction, a person who has interest in or desire for sex (especially as contrasted with an asexual).
   • 2012, Issues in Sexuality and Sexual Behavior Research: 2011 Edition, ScholarlyEditions (?ISBN)

     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.

   • 2015, Mark Carrigan, Kristina Gupta, Todd G. Morrison, Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology, Routledge (?ISBN), page 11:

     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.

   Synonym: allosexual

   Antonym: asexual

Further reading

• sexual in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• sexual in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• aluxes

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sexualis.

Adjective

sexual (epicene, plural sexuales)

1. sexual

Related terms

• sexu

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin sexu?lis, attested from 1839.

Adjective

sexual (masculine and feminine plural sexuals)

1. sexual

Derived terms

• assetjament sexual
• orientació sexual
• sexualitat
• sexualment

Related terms

• sexe

References

Further reading

• “sexual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “sexual” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sexual” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

From Latin sexu?lis.

Adjective

sexual m or f (plural sexuais)

1. sexual

Derived terms

• sexualidade
• sexualmente

Related terms

• sexo

Further reading

• “sexual” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

German

Etymology

From Latin sexu?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /z?ksu?a?l/, /s?ksu?a?l/
• Hyphenation: se?xu?al

Adjective

sexual (comparative sexualer, superlative am sexualsten)

1. (uncommon) sexual

Declension

Related terms

• sexuell

Further reading

• “sexual” in Duden online
• “sexual” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin sexualis.

Adjective

sexual m (feminine singular sexuala, masculine plural sexuals, feminine plural sexualas)

1. sexual

Derived terms

• sexualitat

Related terms

• sèxe

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin sexu?lis.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /s??kswa?/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /se.ksu.?aw/

Adjective

sexual m or f (plural sexuais, comparable)

1. sexual

Inflection

Derived terms

• sexualidade
• sexualmente

Related terms

• sexo

Further reading

• “sexual” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin sexu?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [seksu?al]

Adjective

sexual m or n (feminine singular sexual?, masculine plural sexuali, feminine and neuter plural sexuale)

1. sexual

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin sexu?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /se??swal/, [se???swal]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

sexual (plural sexuales)

1. sexual

Derived terms

Related terms

• sexo

Further reading

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

English

Etymology

From Middle English wantoun, wantowen, wanto?en, wantowe (“uneducated; unrestrained; licentious; sportive; playful”), from wan- (“not, un-, mis-”) + towen, i-towen (“educated”, literally “towed; led; drawn”), from Old English togen, ?etogen, past participle of t?on (“to train, discipline”), equivalent to wan- +? towed.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?w?nt?n/
• (US) enPR: wän't?n, IPA^(key): /?w?nt?n/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?w?nt?n/, /?w?nt?n/
• Rhymes: -?nt?n
• Homophone: wonton (some accents)

Adjective

wanton (comparative wantoner, superlative wantonest)

1. (archaic) Undisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.
   • 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.1:

     As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, / They kill us for their sport.

   • 1785, William Cowper, “The Garden”, in The Task, a Poem, in Six Books. By William Cowper [...] To which are Added, by the Same Author, An Epistle to Joseph Hill, Esq. Tirocinium, or a Review of Schools, and The History of John Gilpin, London: Printed for J[oseph] Johnson, No. 72 St. Paul's Church-Yard, OCLC 221351486; republished as The Task. A Poem. In Six Books. To which is Added, Tirocinium: or, A Review of Schools, new edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Printed for Thomas Dobson, bookseller, in Second-street, second door above Chestnut-street, 1787, OCLC 23630717, page 87:

     'Tis the cruel gripe, / That lean hard-handed poverty inflicts, / The hope of better things, the chance to win, / The wi?h to ?hine, the thir?t to be amus'd, / That at the found of Winter's hoary wing, / Unpeople all our counties, of ?uch herds, / Of flutt'ring, loit'ring, cringing, begging, loo?e, / And wanton vagrants, as make London, va?t / And boundless as it is, a crowded coop.

2. (obsolete) Playful, sportive; merry or carefree.
   • 1776, Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 1:

     The grave simplicity of the philosopher was ill calculated to engage her wanton levity, or to fix that unbounded passion for variety, which often discovered personal merit in the meanest of mankind.

3. Lewd, immoral; sexually open, unchaste.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones:

     if wenches will hang out lures for fellows, it is no matter what they suffer: I detest such creatures; and it would be much better for them that their faces had been seamed with the smallpox: but I must confess I never saw any of this wanton behaviour in poor Jenny [...].

   • 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd:

     I know I ought never to have dreamt of sending that valentine—forgive me, sir—it was a wanton thing which no woman with any self-respect should have done.

   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.21:

     People should not marry too young, because, if they do, the children will be weak and female, the wives will become wanton, and the husbands stunted in their growth.

4. Capricious, reckless of morality, justice etc.; acting without regard for the law or the well-being of others; gratuitous.
   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility:

     Edward himself, now thoroughly enlightened on her character, had no scruple in believing her capable of the utmost meanness of wanton ill-nature.

   • 2009, Ben White, The Guardian, 10 Aug 2009:

     these developments in Gaza are a consequence of the state of siege that the tiny territory has been under – a society that has been fenced-in, starved, and seen its very fabric torn apart by unemployment and wanton military destruction.

5. (archaic) Extravagant, unrestrained, excessive.
   • 1776, Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book I:

     the market price will rise more or less above the natural price, according as either the greatness of the deficiency, or the wealth and wanton luxury of the competitors, happen to animate more or less the eagerness of the competition.

   • 1876, John Ruskin, Letters, 19 Jan 1876:

     But do not think it argues change of temper since I wrote the Frère review, or a wanton praise of one man and blame of another.

Synonyms

• (undisciplined): see Thesaurus:wanton
• (playful, overly happy): frolicsome, playful
• (lewd): lewd, lustful, unchaste
• (capriciously violent): inhumane, callous, merciless
• (luxuriant): extravagant, lavish, luxuriant, prodigal, unrestrained

Derived terms

• wanton kittens make sober cats

Translations

Noun

wanton (plural wantons)

1. A pampered or coddled person.
   • c. 1591-1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

     I would have thee gone — / And yet no farther than a wanton's bird, / That lets it hop a little from her hand, / Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, / And with a silken thread plucks it back again […]

2. An overly playful person; a trifler.

   • 1611, Ben Jonson, Oberon, the Faery Prince

     Peace, my wantons; he will do / More than you can aim unto.

   • 1898: Charles Dickens: A Critical Study by George Gissing

     This quiet remark serves to remind one, among other things that, Dickens was not without his reasons for a spirit of distrust towards religion by law established, as well as towards sundry other forms of religion--the spirit which, especially in his early career, was often misunderstood as hostility to religion in itself, a wanton mocking at sacred things.

3. A self-indulgent person, fond of excess.
4. (archaic) A lewd or immoral person, especially a prostitute.
   • 1891: Jerusalem: Its History and Hope by Mrs. Oliphant

     ...paints with tremendous force the adulteries of the two wantons Aholah and Aholibah, Israel and Judah, and their love of strangers...

   • 1936: Like the Phoenix by Anthony Bertram

     However, terrible as it may seem to the tall maiden sisters of J.P.'s in Queen Anne houses with walled vegetable gardens, this courtesan, strumpet, harlot, whore, punk, fille de joie, street-walker, this trollop, this trull, this baggage, this hussy, this drab, skit, rig, quean, mopsy, demirep, demimondaine, this wanton, this fornicatress, this doxy, this concubine, this frail sister, this poor Queenie—did actually solicit me, did actually say ‘coming home to-night, dearie’ and my soul was not blasted enough to call a policeman.

Translations

Verb

wanton (third-person singular simple present wantons, present participle wantoning, simple past and past participle wantoned)

1. (intransitive) To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit; to revel; to play loosely; to frolic.
   • c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Prologue,^[1]

     […] We will fetch thee straight

     Adonis painted by a running brook,

     And Cytherea all in sedges hid,

     Which seem to move and wanton with her breath

     Even as the waving sedges play wi’ th’ wind.

   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 5, lines 294-296,^[2]

     […] Nature here

     Wantond as in her prime, and plaid at will

     Her Virgin Fancies […]

   • c. 1820, Charles Lamb, “Christ’s Hospital, Five and Thirty Years Ago” in Essays of Elia, Paris: Baudry’s European Library, 1835, p. 15,^[3]

     How merrily we would sally into the fields; and strip under the first warmth of the sun; and wanton like young dace in the streams […]

   • 1927, Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, London: Hogarth Press, 1930, Part 2, 9, p. 217,^[4]

     It might well be, said Mrs. McNab, wantoning on with her memories […]

2. (transitive) To waste or squander, especially in pleasure (most often with away).

   The young man wantoned away his inheritance.

   • 1660, Samuel Pepys, diary entry for 28 April, 1660, in Henry B. Wheatley (ed.), The Diary of Samuel Pepys, London: George Bell, 1905, Volume 8, p.290,^[5]

     […] with this money the King shall wanton away his time in pleasures […]

   • 1881, Christina Rossetti, Called to Be Saints, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, “St. Matthias, Apostle,” p. 153,^[6]

     […] Samson, having wantoned away his strength and paying the penalty […]

   • 1929, Witter Bynner and Jiang Kanghu (translators), “A Song of an Old General” in The Jade Mountain, New York: Vintage, 1972, p. 203,^[7]

     And never would he wanton his cause away with wine.

   • 1948, Digby George Gerahty (as Robert Standish), Elephant Walk, New York: Macmillan, 1949, Chapter 15, p. 214,^[8]

     If either of us felt the respect for George that you imply by your manner, you know perfectly well that we wouldn’t have wantoned away the day as we have.

3. (intransitive) To act wantonly; to be lewd or lascivious.
   • 1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid, London: T. Passinger, p. 62,,^[9]

     Be loving and courteous to your fellow Servants, not gigling or idling out your time, or wantoning in the society of men […]

   • […] whole herds or flocks of other women securely, and scarce regarded, traverse the park, the play, the opera, and the assembly; and though, for the most part at least, they are at last devoured, yet for a long time do they wanton in liberty, without disturbance or controul.

Synonyms

• (to act wantonly): See Thesaurus:harlotize

Translations

Related terms

• wantonly
• wantonness
• wantonry

Anagrams

• Antwon