polyamory

American  

[pol-ee-am-er-ee] / ˌpɒl iˈæm ər i /

noun

1. the practice or condition of participating simultaneously in more than one serious romantic or sexual relationship with the knowledge and consent of all partners.

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Other Word Forms

• polyamorist noun
• polyamorous adjective

Etymology

Origin of polyamory

First recorded in 1990–95; poly- ( def. ) + Latin amor “love” ( amorous ( def. ) ) + -y ³ ( def. ); patterned after polygamy ( def. )

Compare meaning

How does polyamory compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• polygamy vs. polyamory
• monogamy vs. polyamory

Example Sentences

In musical numbers throughout the film, the Emcee gleefully depicts adultery, profligacy and polyamory, and even satirizes Hitler’s mustache without consequences, while seemingly every other Berlin eccentric is getting a nightstick to the cranium for uttering a cross word to a brownshirt.

From Salon

While we waited for them to join, we bonded over the standard first date questions for nonmonogamous queers: how we came out, how we discovered polyamory, what we were looking for and what our boundaries were.

From Los Angeles Times

Polyamory is not a relationship orientation or style that is best for everyone.

From Los Angeles Times

To put that in context though, while anecdotally polyamory seems to be increasing, a YouGov poll in 2023 claims only 2% of the country identifies as polyamory.

From BBC

"I have always felt like I was polyamorous and felt desire to connect with more than one person, however I never acted on it as I felt like that was wrong until I finally learned about polyamory as an option," 29-year-old Alice said.

From BBC