Word.ws English Dictionary

heteronormative

Syllables: he·ter·o·norm·at·iveUK/ˌhɛtəɹəʊˈnɔːmətɪv//ˌhɛtəɹoʊˈnoɹmətɪv/

heteronormative adjective: of or relating to the institutions and practices that privilege or value heterosexuality, heterosexual relationships, and traditional gender roles as fundamental and "natural" within society.

Adjective

heteronormative (comparative more heteronormative, superlative most heteronormative)

  1. Of or relating to the institutions and practices that privilege or value heterosexuality, heterosexual relationships, and traditional gender roles as fundamental and "natural" within society.
    • Much of the language used when discussing wedding planning is heteronormative, which can alienate homosexual couples.
    • [T]he new wave of lesbian and gay studies is at the point of having to force a thorough revision within socio-theoretical traditions, of the kind being won by feminism. There are a number of distinct reasons why that engagement has become necessary: […] concepts and themes of social theory that...1991, Michael Warner, “Introduction: Fear of a Queer Planet”, in Bruce Robbins, Andrew Ross, editors, Social Text, volume 9, number 4 (issue 29), Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, →ISSN, →JSTOR...

heteronormative meaning in Malay

heteronormative in Malay

of or relating to the institutions and practices that privilege or value heterosexuality, heterosexual relationships, and traditional gender roles as fundamental and “natural” within society
heteronormatif

Antonyms of heteronormative

Forms of heteronormative

comparativemore heteronormative
superlativemost heteronormative

Origin of heteronormative

From hetero- + normative. The word was popularized by the American social theorist Michael Warner (born 1958) in a 1991 journal article: see the quotation.

Words formed from heteronormative

Words that rhyme with heteronormative

Questions about heteronormative

What does heteronormative mean?
Heteronormative means of or relating to the institutions and practices that privilege or value heterosexuality, heterosexual relationships, and traditional gender roles as fundamental and "natural" within society.
What is heteronormative in Malay?
Heteronormative in Malay is heteronormatif. See Heteronormative meaning in Malay.
What part of speech is heteronormative?
Heteronormative is an adjective.
How do you pronounce heteronormative?
Heteronormative is pronounced /ˌhɛtəɹəʊˈnɔːmətɪv/ (UK).

Words near heteronormative in the dictionary

  1. heteronormalization
  2. heteronormalize
  3. heteronormalized
  4. heteronormalizes
  5. heteronormalizing
  6. heteronormative
  7. heteronormatively
  8. heteronormativism
  9. heteronormativisms
  10. heteronormativities
  11. heteronormativity

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: heteronormative (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-heteronormative.wav.

Cite this entry: “heteronormative.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/heteronormative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.