sexy

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.sɪ/
• (General American) enPR: sĕkʹsē, IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.si/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛksi

Etymology 1

From sex +‎ -y.

Adjective

sexy (comparative sexier, superlative sexiest)

1. Having sex appeal; attractive.

   Synonyms: hot, arousing, (archaic) concupiscible

   The participants in the swimsuit competition are all very sexy.

   She has a sexy voice!

   • 1978, “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, in Blondes Have More Fun, performed by Rod Stewart:

     If you want my body and you think I'm sexy / Come on sugar let me know

2. (of a thing or concept) Intriguing, appealing, likely to excite interest.

   The manufacturers have launched a sexy new car.

   We have some sexy ideas on how to improve sales.

   Being an undertaker is not a sexy career.

   • 2013, Kathy Casey, D'Lish Deviled Eggs, page 67:

     Creamy cheese, tangy-sweet peppers, and a hit of heat tango in this sexy deviled-egg combo.

   • 2020, Katja Brokke, “Amsterdam has been collapsing for years. Now it's paying the price”, in CNN Travel:

     "The management of the quay walls and bridges has lagged behind in recent decades because it was not given the political priority it deserves and it is not a sexy topic," says Dijksma.

3. (rare) Sexual; relating to or involving sex.

   He didn't really like me; all he wanted was for me to be sexy with him.

Synonyms

• (having sexual appeal): alluring, dishy (of a man), foxy (of a woman), horny, raunchy, sensual, tasty, dreamy, cute, handsome (of a man), dashing (of a man)
• (attractive, appealing): gorgeous, tasty, hot
• See also Thesaurus:sexy

Antonyms

• unsexy
• nonsexy
• (sense 2) prosaic

Derived terms

• sexily
• sexiness
• sexy baby voice
• sexyman
• sexy prime
• sexy shrimp
• sexy son hypothesis
• sexy times

 

Descendants

• → Bulgarian: се́кси (séksi)
• → Catalan: sexi
• → Cebuano: seksi
• → Danish: sexy
• → Dutch: sexy
• → French: sexy
• → Galician: sexy
• → German: sexy
• → Greek: σέξι (séxi)
• → Hebrew: סקסי (seksi)
• → Icelandic: sexí
• → Indonesian: seksi, sèksi
• → Italian: sexy
• → Japanese: セクシー (sekushī)
• → Korean: 섹시 (seksi)
• → Maltese: seksi
• → Mongolian: секси (seksi)
• → Norwegian Bokmål: sexy
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: sexy
• → Persian: سکسی (seksi)
• → Portuguese: sexy
• → Romanian: sexy
• → Russian: се́кси (séksi)
• → Scottish Gaelic: seagsaidh
• → Serbo-Croatian: sȅksī, се̏ксӣ
• → Spanish: sexi, sexy
• → Tagalog: seksi
• → Thai: เซ็กซี่ (sék-sîi)
• → Turkish: seksi

Translations

having sexual appeal

• Albanian: joshës (sq), tërheqës (sq)
• Arabic: جَذَّاب (jaḏḏāb), جِنْسِيّ (jinsiyy), مُثِير لِلشَّهْوَة (muṯīr li-š-šahwa), سِيكْسِي (seksī)

  Hijazi Arabic: جَذَّاب m (jaḏḏāb), سِكْسي m (siksi)

• Armenian: սեքսուալ (hy) (sekʻsual), սեքսոտ (sekʻsot)
• Bulgarian: се́кси (séksi), сексапи́лен (seksapílen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 性感 (zh) (xìnggǎn)

• Danish: sexet
• Dutch: sexy (nl)
• Esperanto: volupta, amorveka
• Estonian: seksikas
• Finnish: seksikäs (fi)
• French: sexy (fr) m or f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: sexy (de)
• Greek: σέξι (el) (séxi)
• Hebrew: סקסי (seksi)
• Hindi: सेक्सी (seksī)
• Icelandic: sexí, kynþokkafullur, kynæsandi
• Indonesian: seksi (id)
• Irish: gnéasúil, mealltach
• Italian: sexy (it) m or f
• Japanese: セクシー (ja) (sekushī), 色っぽい (ja) (いろっぽい, iroppoi)
• Khmer: សិចស៊ី (səcsii)
• Korean: 섹시 (seksi), 섹시하다 (ko) (seksihada)
• Macedonian: сексапи́лен (seksapílen), се́кси (séksi)
• Marathi: सेक्सी (seksī)
• Mongolian: тачаангуй (mn) (tačaanguj), секси (seksi)
• Norwegian: sexy (no), kjønnslig, seksuell
• Persian: جذاب (fa) (jazzâb), سکسی (fa) (seksi)
• Portuguese: sexy (pt) m or f, sensual (pt) m or f
• Romanian: sexy (ro), sexos
• Russian: сексуа́льный (ru) (sɛksuálʹnyj), се́кси (ru) (sɛ́ksi) (indeclinable), сексапи́льный (ru) (sɛksapílʹnyj)
• Sanskrit: शृङ्गारिन् (sa) (śṛṅgārin)
• Slovak: sexi
• Spanish: sexy (es)
• Swedish: sexig (sv)
• Thai: เซ็กซี่ (th) (séksêe)
• Tibetan: འདོད་ཆགས་སློང་མཁན ('dod chags slong mkhan)
• Turkish: seksi (tr)
• Ukrainian: сексуа́льний (seksuálʹnyj)
• Vietnamese: quyến rũ (vi), cuốn hút, hấp dẫn (vi)

slang: very attractive or appealing

• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: sexet
• Dutch: sexy (nl)
• Finnish: seksikäs (fi)
• French: sexy (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: sexy (de)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: whakahiamo
• Norwegian: sexy (no)
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: се́кси (ru) (sɛ́ksi) (indeclinable), сексапи́льный (ru) (sɛksapílʹnyj)
• Sanskrit: काम्य (sa) (kāmya)
• Spanish: sexy (es)
• Swedish: sexig (sv)
• Turkish: dehşet (tr), efsane (tr), ilik gibi (slang)
• Ukrainian: се́ксі (séksi)
• Vietnamese: hấp dẫn (vi), gợi cảm (vi), hở hang (vi), gợi dục

Etymology 2

From Latin sex (“six”) +‎ -y, intended as a pun.

Adjective

sexy (not comparable)

1. (mathematics) Used to describe prime numbers that differ from each other by six.

   (73,79) is a sexy prime pair.

Derived terms

• sexy prime

Anagrams

• syxe

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɛksɪ]

Noun

sexy

1. nominative/accusative/vocative/instrumental plural of sex

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English sexy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.si/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sexy

Adjective

sexy (comparative sexyer, superlative sexyst)

1. sexy

   Wij zijn buitengewoon sexy.

   We are extraordinarily sexy.

Declension

Declension of sexy
uninflected	sexy
inflected	sexy
comparative	sexyer
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		sexy	sexyer	het sexyst het sexyste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	sexy	sexyere	sexyste
	n. sing.	sexy	sexyer	sexyste
	plural	sexy	sexyere	sexyste
definite		sexy	sexyere	sexyste
partitive		sexy's	sexyers	—

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English sexy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛk.si/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

sexy (invariable)

1. sexy

Further reading

• “sexy”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English sexy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛksi/ (official standard but rarely used; usually considered overly formal or incorrect)
• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛksi/ (usual)

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

sexy (strong nominative masculine singular sexyer, comparative sexyer, superlative am sexysten)

1. sexy

Usage notes

• In German, most people try to approximate the original pronunciations of many recently borrowed words, which is why there is even a term for this, Fremdwort, for which there is no real equivalent in English. In the case of the corresponding noun, Sex, a voiced beginning is considered even more outdated or incorrect than for the adjective sexy, and this voiced pronunciation is used and emphasized for sechs ("six") to clearly differentiate it.
• The positive form is not inflected in standard usage: ein sexy Kleid. Inflected forms only occur in colloquial speech (ein sexyes Kleid), and only rarely.
• The comparative has to be inflected when used before nouns. This is avoided in standard usage, which means that the comparative is rare except in predicative position. (Colloquial: Sie will ein sexyeres Kleid. / Sie will ein Kleid, das mehr sexy ist. Formal written: Die Kundin sucht ein Kleid, das sexyer ist. Formal spoken [since the ending of sexyer is hard to hear]: Die Kundin sucht ein Kleid, das mehr sexy ist.)

Declension

Positive forms of sexy

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist sexy	sie ist sexy	es ist sexy	sie sind sexy
strong declension (without article)	nominative	sexyer	sexye	sexyes	sexye
	genitive	sexyen	sexyer	sexyen	sexyer
	dative	sexyem	sexyer	sexyem	sexyen
	accusative	sexyen	sexye	sexyes	sexye
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der sexye	die sexye	das sexye	die sexyen
	genitive	des sexyen	der sexyen	des sexyen	der sexyen
	dative	dem sexyen	der sexyen	dem sexyen	den sexyen
	accusative	den sexyen	die sexye	das sexye	die sexyen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein sexyer	eine sexye	ein sexyes	(keine) sexyen
	genitive	eines sexyen	einer sexyen	eines sexyen	(keiner) sexyen
	dative	einem sexyen	einer sexyen	einem sexyen	(keinen) sexyen
	accusative	einen sexyen	eine sexye	ein sexyes	(keine) sexyen

Comparative forms of sexy

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist sexyer	sie ist sexyer	es ist sexyer	sie sind sexyer
strong declension (without article)	nominative	sexyerer	sexyere	sexyeres	sexyere
	genitive	sexyeren	sexyerer	sexyeren	sexyerer
	dative	sexyerem	sexyerer	sexyerem	sexyeren
	accusative	sexyeren	sexyere	sexyeres	sexyere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der sexyere	die sexyere	das sexyere	die sexyeren
	genitive	des sexyeren	der sexyeren	des sexyeren	der sexyeren
	dative	dem sexyeren	der sexyeren	dem sexyeren	den sexyeren
	accusative	den sexyeren	die sexyere	das sexyere	die sexyeren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein sexyerer	eine sexyere	ein sexyeres	(keine) sexyeren
	genitive	eines sexyeren	einer sexyeren	eines sexyeren	(keiner) sexyeren
	dative	einem sexyeren	einer sexyeren	einem sexyeren	(keinen) sexyeren
	accusative	einen sexyeren	eine sexyere	ein sexyeres	(keine) sexyeren

Superlative forms of sexy

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am sexysten	sie ist am sexysten	es ist am sexysten	sie sind am sexysten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	sexyster	sexyste	sexystes	sexyste
	genitive	sexysten	sexyster	sexysten	sexyster
	dative	sexystem	sexyster	sexystem	sexysten
	accusative	sexysten	sexyste	sexystes	sexyste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der sexyste	die sexyste	das sexyste	die sexysten
	genitive	des sexysten	der sexysten	des sexysten	der sexysten
	dative	dem sexysten	der sexysten	dem sexysten	den sexysten
	accusative	den sexysten	die sexyste	das sexyste	die sexysten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein sexyster	eine sexyste	ein sexystes	(keine) sexysten
	genitive	eines sexysten	einer sexysten	eines sexysten	(keiner) sexysten
	dative	einem sexysten	einer sexysten	einem sexysten	(keinen) sexysten
	accusative	einen sexysten	eine sexyste	ein sexystes	(keine) sexysten

Derived terms

• unsexy

Further reading

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

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sexy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.si/
• Rhymes: -ɛksi
• Hyphenation: sè‧xy

Adjective

sexy (invariable)

1. sexy

Derived terms

• sexy-shop

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from English sexy.

Adjective

sexy (indeclinable)

1. sexy

References

• “sexy” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from English sexy.

Adjective

sexy (indeclinable)

1. sexy

References

• “sexy” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sexy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.si/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛksi
• Syllabification: se‧xy

Adjective

sexy (comparative bardziej sexy, superlative najbardziej sexy, no derived adverb)

1. (colloquial) sexy (having sexual appeal)

   Synonym: seksowny

Adverb

sexy (comparative bardziej sexy, superlative najbardziej sexy)

1. (colloquial) sexily

   Synonym: seksownie

Further reading

• sexy in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• sexy in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sexy.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.si/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛ.ksi/

• Audio (Portugal, Oporto):

  (file)

Adjective

sexy (invariable)

1. (of a person) sexy (having sexual appeal)

   Synonym: sensual

   • 2007, Tania Menai, Nova York do Oiapoque ao Chuí: relatos de brasileiros na cidade que nunca dorme, Casa da Palavra, →ISBN, page 129:

     O pessoal daqui viu como a gente fotografa bem, como as meninas são bonitas, todas elas são sexys, têm corpo legal, a maioria é desinibida — ou seja, não há problema de vestir biquíni ou lingerie e fotografar.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2014, Ivan Misner, Frank J. De Raffele Jr., Hazel M. Walker, Essa ideia é tão boa que parece que foi sua, Universo dos Livros Editora, →ISBN, page 33:

     Não, amor. Você está fantástica. É elegante e sexy ao mesmo tempo. Mas não é o vestido que é sexy, é você que faz esse vestido parecer sexy!

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sexy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈseksi]

Adjective

sexy m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. sexy

   Synonym: sexos

Declension

invariable		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	sexy		sexy		sexy	sexy
	definite	—		—		—	—
genitive- dative	indefinite	sexy		sexy		sexy	sexy
	definite	—		—		—	—

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈseksi]

Noun

sexy

1. nominative/accusative plural of sex

Spanish

Adjective

sexy m or f (masculine and feminine plural sexys) (or invariable)

1. Alternative form of sexi

Further reading

• “sexy”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10