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
More than one in 10 respondents also said they had been subjected to conversion therapy, and 20% said they had been threatened with it, both at rates several times higher than their endosex peers.
—Samantha Riedel, Them, 24 Oct. 2024
Another bill aimed to remove my daughter and all trans youth from the nondiscrimination law that had passed just a few years earlier; and the final bill sought to repeal the state’s ban on conversion therapy.
—Abi Maxwell, People.com, 22 Oct. 2024
That’s how many conversion therapy practices are in 48 states and D.C., according to 2023 research from the Trevor Project.
—Arianna Johnson, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Advocates against conversion therapy praise Beshear Advocates against conversion therapy said Beshear signing the executive order is going to protect Kentucky’s LGBTQ youth.
—Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 18 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for conversion therapy 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Samantha Riedel, Them, 24 Oct. 2024
Another bill aimed to remove my daughter and all trans youth from the nondiscrimination law that had passed just a few years earlier; and the final bill sought to repeal the state’s ban on conversion therapy.
—Abi Maxwell, People.com, 22 Oct. 2024
That’s how many conversion therapy practices are in 48 states and D.C., according to 2023 research from the Trevor Project.
—Arianna Johnson, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Advocates against conversion therapy praise Beshear Advocates against conversion therapy said Beshear signing the executive order is going to protect Kentucky’s LGBTQ youth.
—Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 18 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for conversion therapy
Dictionary Entries Near conversion therapy
Cite this Entry
“Conversion therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversion%20therapy. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share