polygamous
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, characterized by, or practicing polygamy; polygamic.
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Botany. bearing both unisexual and hermaphrodite flowers on the same or on different plants of the same species.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of polygamous
From the Greek word polýgamos, dating back to 1605–15. See poly-, -gamous
Compare meaning
How does polygamous compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Someone who's polygamous has more than one husband or wife. Polygamous societies still exist, but it's more common for most people today to be married to one person at a time. You can describe someone with seven husbands as polygamous, and you can also use the word to describe an animal with several mates as well as a plant with a particularly varied reproductive system. The Late Greek source is polygamos, "often married," which combines the roots polys, "many," and gamos, "marriage."
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.
Her mother's side the family was polygamous for generations.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
With 13% of South Africa's population living with the virus – polygamous unions have divided opinion in the country with many pointing to the dangers plural families face.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Like capybaras in the wild, zoo capybaras are polygamous, with one alpha male and several females forming a sort of harem.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
The new study supports this assumption: In polygamous mammals with strong competition, males generally die earlier than females.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2025
Plants, climbing, 45, 313-315;insectivorous, 47, 319-322; power of movement in, 48, 315-319; garden, difficulty of naming, 308; heterostyled, polygamous, diœcious and gynodiœcious, 311.
From Charles Darwin: His Life in an Autobiographical Chapter, and in a Selected Series of His Published Letters by Charles Darwin
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.
