promiscuous
Americanadjective
-
characterized by or involving indiscriminate mingling or association, especially having sexual relations with a number of partners on a casual basis.
- Synonyms:
- wild, abandoned, licentious
- Antonyms:
- chaste
-
consisting of parts, elements, or individuals of different kinds brought together without order.
-
indiscriminate; without discrimination; not selective.
- Synonyms:
- unthinking, thoughtless, random
- Antonyms:
- selective
adjective
-
indulging in casual and indiscriminate sexual relationships
-
consisting of a number of dissimilar parts or elements mingled in a confused or indiscriminate manner
-
indiscriminate in selection
-
casual or heedless
Related Words
See miscellaneous.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of promiscuous
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin prōmiscuus “mixed up,” equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + misc(ēre) “to mix” + -uus adjective suffix; see mix, -ous
Explanation
The adjective promiscuous is often used pejoratively to refer to someone who has many romantic partners. However, the word can also be used in a general sense to mean "not limited, restrained, or restricted." If you're a promiscuous reader, you'll read just about anything — from biographies to science fiction to the back of the cereal box. Promiscuous is not limited to a romantic context. Long ago promiscuous described "a disorderly mixture of people and things," and shades of that original meaning linger. If a chef at an Italian restaurant is promiscuous, you might find him mixing ingredients from South America or Asia into his pasta. Carpet bombing as opposed to targeted invasion might be called a promiscuous use of military force.
Vocabulary lists containing promiscuous
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Hipgnosis is run by a real music person first and foremost,” says the writer-producer Tim “Timbaland” Mosley, whose biggest hits include Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack and Nelly Furtado’s Promiscuous.
From The Guardian • Feb. 27, 2021
Promiscuous mortgage issuance was just one of the colossal errors made by Citi’s leaders in the runup to the Great Recession.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 3, 2018
Promiscuous interactions of gp78 E3 ligase CUE domain with polyubiquitin chains.
From Nature • Nov. 7, 2017
"Promiscuous abstraction" is the phrase she uses to describe his art in the 1960s, and it is hard to think of a better one.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2014
Promiscuous giving of charity by well-intentioned persons often results in giving to the undeserving as well as to the deserving.
From Community Civics and Rural Life by Dunn, Arthur William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
