Aesthetic attraction: occurs when someone appreciates the appearance or beauty of another person(s), disconnected from sexual or romantic attraction.

Alterous attraction: a form of emotional attraction. It describes a feeling that is not necessarily platonic/queerplatonic, but also is not romantic in nature. It's a pull toward emotional closeness or intense feelings that may or may not have any relation to the romantic/nonromantic binary. Someone can be both alterous & romantic &/or platonic & can have varying degrees of attraction, ultimately feel discomfort / unease / or just a sense of inaccuracy in calling it wholly romantic or platonic.

Emotional attraction: the desire to get to know someone, often as a result of their personality instead of their physicality. This type of attraction is present in most relationships from platonic friendships to romantic and sexual relationships.

Intellectual attraction: the desire to engage with another in an intellectual manner, such as engaging in conversation with them, “picking their brain,” and it has more to do with what or how a person thinks instead of the person themselves.

Platonic attraction: is defined as the desire to form a close platonic relationship (friendship) with a specific person, or to form a closer friendship with someone one already knows.

Primary Attraction - attraction that is felt upon first meeting someone.

Romantic attraction: attraction that makes people desire romantic contact or interaction with another person or persons.

Secondary Attraction - attraction that only develops after personally knowing someone for a period of time.

Sensual attraction: the desire to interact with others in a tactile, non-sexual way, such as through hugging or cuddling.

Sexual attraction: a feeling of attraction to someone’s physical appearance with a sexual component, or desire to touch someone sexually. Difficult for some asexual people to define and recognize.

Lush - A sensual equivalent of a squish or crush.

Plish - (proposed by my-only-voice) an instance or example of sensual attraction.

Plush - A queer platonic crush, a strong desire to join in a queer platonic relationship with someone.

Smush - A sexual crush aka Lust.

Squish - An intense feeling of attraction, liking, appreciation, admiration for a person you urgently want to get to know better and become close with. It is different from "just wanting to be friends" in that there is an intensity about it and a disproportionate sense of elation when they like and appreciate you back. In the asexual community, the equivalent of a "crush", but explicitly lacking an interest in forming a romantic couple or having a sexual relationship with the person in question. It does not matter if they are "in a relationship", as long as you two can have a deep connection.

Swish - An aesthetic crush.

Thete - (proposed by Anagnori) An instance or example of aesthetic attraction.

Abstinence - Not participating in sexual activity (often specifically partnered sexual activity) by choice.

Antisexual - Ideologically opposed to sex, or having negative views of other people’s sexual lifestyles. Related to slut-shaming.

Celibacy, Celibate - The lifestyle choice to avoid participating in sex, regardless of whether one feels sexual attraction or not.

Chastity - To only participate in sex in circumstances prescribed by one’s religious beliefs.

Acephobia - Prejudice or discrimination against asexual-spectrum people.

Allosexism - Belief or assumption that being allosexual (someone who experiences sexual attraction) is the only way to be, or best way to be

Amatonormativity- The assumption that the traditional view of romantic relationships: a monogamous relationship where the parties are married, live together, and have children in a nuclear household, is the highest form of satisfaction one can achieve in life, and that all people strive for this type of relationship.

Compulsory Sexuality - The cultural force that expects all people to be either sexually available or in a sexual relationship, and which expects sex to be an important value or goal for all people. Heterosexuality is especially valued. A major problem for asexual people.

Heteronormativity - The cultural force that expects all people to be cisgender, heteroromantic and heterosexual. Major problem that affects all queer identities, including asexuals. Closely linked to homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and acephobia.

Pathologization - The act of treating something as an illness or disorder, which is abnormal and needs to be fixed. Asexuality is often pathologized.

Arousal - Being “turned on”, generally accompanied by a physical genital response, such as erection and/or lubrication.

Agensexual - An asexual person who is repulsed by genitalia.

Hyposexual - Having a low libido or sex drive.

Libido - Sex drive, which may or may not be targeted at a person. Asexual people may have libidos despite not feeling sexual attraction.

Limerence - Strong feelings of attraction that can be romantic, sexual or platonic. Characterized by a mixture of joy, nervousness, obsessive thoughts and desire for approval from the target of interest. Often occurs in crushes.

Nonlibidoist - An asexual person who does not feel any desire to masturbate, or who has no sex drive.

Sex-averse - Usually a synonym for sex-repulsed; however, some people may be averse to sex without actually feeling repulsion toward it.

Sex-indifferent - Willingness to either participate in or avoid sex; not actively discomforted by engaging in sexual activities. Common among asexual people.

Sex Positivity - A movement or ideology that values all forms of sex between enthusiastically consenting adults. Opposed to slut-shaming and homophobia.

Sex-repulsed - Not wanting to engage in sex, often due to disgust, annoyance or discomfort with it. Common among asexual people. Sex-repulsed people may still be sex positive and support sexual freedom for other people. Also called sex-averse.

Touch-averse - Not wanting to touch and/or be touched by other people. Some asexual people are naturally touch-averse.

Ace - Short for asexual.

Ace of Hearts - A symbol or nickname for asexuals who experience romantic attraction.

Ace of Spades - A symbol or nickname for asexuals who are aromantic.

Anthony Bogaert - Currently the most prominent researcher of asexuality. Author of Understanding Asexuality.

Aroace: Short for “Aromantic Asexual”.

Asexual Spectrum - The set of all people who are asexual, gray-asexual, demisexual, or who have asexual tendencies. (often shortened to ace-spec)

Asexual Triangle - A downward-pointing triangle that is mostly white, but shades into gray and then black at the bottom tip. Represents the asexual spectrum. Originated as an expansion of the Kinsey Scale.

Asexy - Describes a person or thing who is cool, excellent, or attractive in a non-sexual way. Also a complimentary descriptor for asexual people in general.

AVEN - Asexual Visibility and Education Network, asexuality.org. The most prominent website and forum dedicated to asexuality.

Black Ring - An accessory used to signify that one is asexual. Most commonly worn on the right middle finger. Can be of any material or design.

Cake Jokes - Cake is associated with asexuality, most likely originated as a meme on AVEN. Predates the “cake is better than sex” meme.

David Jay - Founder of AVEN. One of the few asexuality-awareness activists who is featured in the media with any regularity.

Grace / Gray-A - Short for gray-asexual.

Graysexual - Short for gray-asexual.

Group X - Refers to asexual people when talking about the Kinsey Scale.

GSD - Gender and Sexual Diversity. See GSM.

GSM, GSRM - Gender, Sexual (and Romantic) Minorities. An alternative to the LGBTQ+ acronym.

Kink - A fetish or means of pleasure, often but not necessarily sexual. Some asexual people have kinks.

Kinsey Scale - A model that categorized human sexuality as a spectrum between heterosexual and homosexual, with bisexuals in the middle. Asexual people were classified as “Group X” and not included on the scale.

MOGAI, MOGII - “Marginalized orientations, gender alignments and intersex”, and “marginalized orientations, gender identities and intersex,” respectively. There is some dispute over which of these terms is better, due to the possibility that cisgender heterosexual heteroromantic women may be included in “marginalized gender identities.”

Nonamory - (proposed by Anagnori) A lifestyle choice or relationship style that does not include intimate, long-term partnerships, whether romantic or platonic.

Perioriented - Having a romantic orientation and sexual orientation that target the same genders, e.g. a homosexual homoromantic person, or bisexual biromantic person.

Queerplatonic Relationship: A close relationship that does not fit within the traditional boundaries of a romantic or sexual relationship, yet is different than friendship.

QP - Queerplatonic or quasiplatonic.

QPP - A queerplatonic/quasiplatonic partner.

Transyada - 1. The Transyada forum, historically spun off from AVEN. Has a large proportion of asexual-spectrum users. 2. Word used on AVEN and Transyada to describe trans, non-binary or gender-variant people, especially forum members. Many transyadas are also asexual-spectrum.

Varioriented - Having a romantic orientation and sexual orientation that target different sets of genders, e.g. a homoromantic asexual person, or panromantic heterosexual person.

Yada - Short for transyada.

Zucchini - Humorous or casual term for a queerplatonic partner.

Getting aroused by sexual content but not desiring a sexual relationship in real life.

Masturbating, but being neutral or repulsed by the idea of having sex with another person.

Fantasizing about sex, but the autochorisexual person is not involved, they are only a disembodied observer.

Fantasizing about sex, but doing so from a dissociative third-person perspective, and not from the first person.

Fantasizing about sex, but envisioning other people, such as celebrities or fictional characters.

Fantasizing about sex but only imagining oneself, and no other people.

Fantasizing about sex but it involves generic, faceless people, not specific people.