Dictionary

promiscuity en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˌpɹɑm.ɪˈskju.ɪ.ti/ (US)
• /ˌpɹɒm.ɪˈskju.ɪ.ti/ (UK)
• /ˌpɹəʊ.mɪˈskju.ɪ.ti/ (UK)
• /ˌpɹoʊ.mɪˈskju.ɪ.ti/ (US)

Etymology

From French promiscuité.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The state or quality of being promiscuous.
2. (countable, uncountable) Indiscriminateness in the choice of sexual partners.
   • I'm not advocating sexual promiscuity but I think it's possible for a woman to have many kinds of sexual relationships with many men and that shouldn't affect the status of the marriage 1975 March 17, Marian Christy, “Suzy Chaffee, A Liberated Beauty”, in The Lebanon Daily News:
   • Experimental variety or what Rey Anthony has called selective promiscuity - is the cornerstone of sane sexual choice. 1963, Albert Ellis, The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Manhunting, page 129:
   • As she becomes more conscious of her flirtatious power, she is sometimes urged toward promiscuity. 1998 May 14, James Dobson, “Self-worth based on beauty can wither as women age”, in The Woodfield County Journal:
   • Seeing these happy pairings, I thought of the cheerful promiscuity to come. I felt a growing sexual need, not only for the young women brushing against me in the crowded street... 1979, J.G. Ballard, The Unlimited Dream Company, chapter 24:
3. (countable, dated, literary, uncountable) State of being mixed, composed of diverse elements, unsystematic; heterogeneity.
   • While I dressed—for Stroeve wished me to go at once with him to the hospital—he told me that he had arranged for his wife to have a private room, so that she might at least be spared the sordid promiscuity of a ward. 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 34”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

superpromiscuity · antipromiscuity

Translations (21)

gl promiscuidade (state or quality of being promiscuous) · tl kahandalapakan (state or quality of being promiscuous) · nl promiscuïteit (state or quality of being promiscuous) · de Promiskuität (state or quality of being promiscuous) · es promiscuidad (state or quality of being promiscuous) · fi siveettömyys (state or quality of being promiscuous) · sk promiskuita (state or quality of being promiscuous) · sv promiskuitet (state or quality of being promiscuous) · hu promiszkuitás (state or quality of being promiscuous) · id promiskuitas (state or quality of being promiscuous) · el συγχρωτισμός (state or quality of being promiscuous) · pt promiscuidade (state or quality of being promiscuous) · pl promiskuityzm (state or quality of being promiscuous) · is lauslæti (state or quality of being promiscuous) · fr promiscuité sexuelle (state or quality of being promiscuous) · ro promiscuitate (state or quality of being promiscuous) · pl rozwiązłość (state or quality of being promiscuous) · fi promiskuiteetti (state or quality of being promiscuous) · ca promiscuïtat (state or quality of being promiscuous) · ota زنا (state or quality of being promiscuous) · mk промискуитет (state or quality of being promiscuous)