intersex
noting or relating to a person, animal, or plant having reproductive organs, genitals, hormones, or chromosomal patterns that do not fall under typical definitions of male and female; intersexual: The counselor often talks about his experience as an intersex person.All clownfish are intersex.
Sometimes Offensive. a person, animal, or plant having reproductive organs, genitals, hormones, or chromosomal patterns that do not fall under typical definitions of male and female.
Also called in·ter·sex·u·al·i·ty [in-ter-sek-shoo-al-i-tee] /ˌɪn tərˌsɛk ʃuˈæl ɪ ti/ . the state of having genitals, reproductive organs, hormones, or chromosomal patterns that do not fall under typical definitions of male and female: It's important to talk openly about intersex in order to reduce stigma.
Origin of intersex
1usage note For intersex
The use of intersex as a noun (e.g., an intersex ) rather than an adjective (e.g., an intersex person ) when describing someone who has a difference of sex development is often considered offensive. The older term hermaphrodite is extremely offensive except when used in self-reference. As with most identity labels, it is best to ask for an individual person's preference when referring to them. See gender1. See also sex1.
- See also disorder of sex development.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use intersex in a sentence
The series of the male intersexes starts with males showing a few white female spots on their wings.
The Organism as a Whole | Jacques LoebCases of partial reversal, sometimes called "intersexes," are common enough.
Taboo and Genetics | Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary BlanchardThe Greeks called these intermediate types urnings—modern biology knows them as "intersexes."
Taboo and Genetics | Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary BlanchardOne of these hybrids of "intersexes," as he calls them, would always possess some female and some male sexual characters.
Taboo and Genetics | Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary BlanchardBut a cross of European with Japanese strains resulted in intersexes.
Taboo and Genetics | Melvin Moses Knight, Iva Lowther Peters, and Phyllis Mary Blanchard
British Dictionary definitions for intersex
/ (ˈɪntəˌsɛks) /
the condition of having characteristics intermediate between those of a male and a female
an individual, esp a person, exhibiting such physiological characteristics: Compare gynandromorph, hermaphrodite (def. 1), hermaphrodite (def. 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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