conversion therapy
noun
plural conversion therapies
: the use of any of various methods (such as aversive stimulation or religious counseling) in an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or to change a person's gender identity to correspond to the sex the person was identified as having at birth
Note: Conversion therapy is generally regarded as having no scientific basis and as being both ineffective and harmful.
Conversion therapy is both pointless and painful. At its best, it can inflict considerable psychological damage on a child without changing their sexual orientation or gender identity whatsoever. At its worst, it can lead to suicide …—
Samantha Allen
Samantha AllenMomentum has been building in legislative sessions this spring for the bans, which prohibit state-licensed mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy for anyone under 18.—Susan Miller
Susan Millercalled also reparative therapy
Examples of conversion therapy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The case would determine whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 8 July 2025
House Bill 495, which reverses Beshear's 2024 executive order banning conversion therapy while also banning Medicaid from covering some medical treatments for transgender residents, is among them.
—Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
That legislation included House Bill 15, which lowered the age teens are eligible to apply for a driver's permit, and House Bill 495, which struck down Gov. Andy Beshear's order banning conversion therapy.
—Hannah Pinski, Louisville Courier Journal, 20 June 2025
Advocates are awaiting a decision on Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case regarding opt-out measures for books featuring LGBTQ+ characters, and justices are set to hear arguments for Chiles v. Salazar, which is challenging Colorado’s conversion therapy ban.
—Solcyré Burga, Time, 26 June 2025
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Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 8 July 2025
House Bill 495, which reverses Beshear's 2024 executive order banning conversion therapy while also banning Medicaid from covering some medical treatments for transgender residents, is among them.
—Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
That legislation included House Bill 15, which lowered the age teens are eligible to apply for a driver's permit, and House Bill 495, which struck down Gov. Andy Beshear's order banning conversion therapy.
—Hannah Pinski, Louisville Courier Journal, 20 June 2025
Advocates are awaiting a decision on Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case regarding opt-out measures for books featuring LGBTQ+ characters, and justices are set to hear arguments for Chiles v. Salazar, which is challenging Colorado’s conversion therapy ban.
—Solcyré Burga, Time, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for conversion therapy
Cite this Entry
“Conversion therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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