Sexual harassment has now become a social issue.
Source: tatoeba (51336)
Sexual
/sɛk.ʃuː.əl/
Synonyms for "sexual" (95 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (19)
Strong matches (29)
Related words (47)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: amative, amatory, amorous, animal, aphrodisiomaniacal.
- Sentence evidence is available for sexual, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "sexual".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "sexual"
Keep "sexual" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "sexual" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "sexual", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "sexual" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
4 entriesMore specific
2 entrieseroticismsexual arousal
Collocations
6 entriessexual consentsexual dimorphismsexual educationsexual healthsexual orientationsexual reproduction
Inflections
2 entriesmore sexualmost sexual
Derivations
6 entriesAntonyms
1 entriessimilar
5 entriesTranslations
63 translations across 47 languages.
Ancient Greek
1 entries- ἀφροδίσιος adj (of or relating to having sex)
Arabic
1 entries- جِنْسِيّ adj (of or relating to having sex)
Armenian
1 entries- սեռական adj (of or relating to having sex)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- cinsi adj (of or relating to having sex)
Belarusian
3 entries- палавы́ adj (of or relating to having sex)
- пло́цевы adj (of or relating to having sex)
- сэксуа́льны adj (of or relating to having sex)
Bulgarian
2 entries- по́лов adj (of or relating to having sex)
- сексуа́лен adj (of or relating to having sex)
Catalan
1 entries- sexual adj (of or relating to having sex)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 性的 adj (of or relating to having sex)
Czech
2 entries- pohlavní adj (of or relating to having sex)
- sexuální adj (of or relating to having sex)
Danish
1 entries- seksuel adj (of or relating to having sex)
Dutch
1 entries- seksueel adj (of or relating to having sex)
Esperanto
2 entries- amora adj (of or relating to having sex)
- seksa adj (of or relating to having sex)
Estonian
2 entries- seksuaalne adj (of or relating to having sex)
- sugu- adj (of or relating to having sex)
Faroese
1 entries- kynsligur adj (of or relating to having sex)
Finnish
2 entries- seksuaalinen adj (of or relating to having sex)
- sukupuolinen adj (of or relating to having sex)
French
1 entries- sexuel adj (of or relating to having sex)
Galician
1 entries- sexual adj (of or relating to having sex)
Georgian
1 entries- სექსუალური adj (of or relating to having sex)
Greek
1 entries- σεξουαλικός adj (of or relating to having sex)
Hebrew
1 entries- מִינִי adj (of or relating to having sex)
Hungarian
1 entries- ivaros adj (of or relating to having sex)
Indonesian
1 entries- seksual adj (of or relating to having sex)
Iranian Persian
1 entries- جِنْسی adj (of or relating to having sex)
Italian
1 entries- sessuale adj (of or relating to having sex)
Japanese
1 entries- 性的 adj (of or relating to having sex)
Kazakh
1 entries- жыныстық adj (of or relating to having sex)
Korean
2 entries- 성의 adj (of or relating to having sex)
- 성적인 adj (of or relating to having sex)
Latin
1 entries- sexualis adj (of or relating to having sex)
Macedonian
2 entries- полов adj (of or relating to having sex)
- сексуа́лен adj (of or relating to having sex)
Malayalam
1 entries- ലൈംഗിക adj (of or relating to having sex)
Maltese
1 entries- sesswali adj (of or relating to having sex)
Northern Sami
1 entries- seksuála adj (of or relating to having sex)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- seksuell adj (of or relating to having sex)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- seksuell adj (of or relating to having sex)
Occitan
1 entries- sexual adj (of or relating to having sex)
Pashto
1 entries- جنسي adj (of or relating to having sex)
Polish
2 entries- płciowy adj (of or relating to having sex)
- seksualny adj (of or relating to having sex)
Portuguese
1 entries- sexual adj (of or relating to having sex)
Romanian
1 entries- sexual adj (of or relating to having sex)
Russian
2 entries- полово́й adj (of or relating to having sex)
- сексуа́льный adj (of or relating to having sex)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- sȅksuālan adj (of or relating to having sex)
- се̏ксуа̄лан adj (of or relating to having sex)
Slovak
2 entries- pohlavný adj (of or relating to having sex)
- sexuálny adj (of or relating to having sex)
Slovene
2 entries- seksualen adj (of or relating to having sex)
- spolen adj (of or relating to having sex)
Spanish
1 entries- sexual adj (of or relating to having sex)
Swedish
2 entries- sex- adj (of or relating to having sex)
- sexuell adj (of or relating to having sex)
Tajik
1 entries- ҷинсӣ adj (of or relating to having sex)
Ukrainian
2 entries- сексуа́льний adj (of or relating to having sex)
- стате́вий adj (of or relating to having sex)
Sample sentences
23 total sentences available.
When I told her I'd never seen such a homely girl, she accused me of sexual harassment.
Source: tatoeba (73927)
Recent comics have too many violent and sexual scenes.
Source: tatoeba (243799)
My first sexual experience was with a woman some years older than I was.
Source: tatoeba (267058)
Showing 4 of 23 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "sexual"?
Closest matches include amative, amatory, amorous, animal, aphrodisiomaniacal.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "sexual"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.