monogamic
Americanadjective
Usage
What does monogamic mean? Monogamic is a less common word for monogamous—having only one spouse, one sexual partner, or (in the case of animals) one mate. Monogamic is used to describe people and animals that practice monogamy or to describe their relationships or practices. The word monogamy most technically refers to the state or practice of being married to only one person at a time. It is also commonly used in a more general way to refer to the state of being in a romantic or sexual relationship with only one person at a time. Less commonly, monogamy can mean the practice of being married only once throughout one’s life. In the study of animals, monogamy refers to the practice of having only one mate. A monogamic person can be called a monogamist. The term can also be applied to a person who advocates for monogamy. Example: Monogamy may be traditional in our modern society, but monogamic relationships haven’t always been the norm in every culture.
Etymology
Origin of monogamic
First recorded in 1830–40; monogam(y) + -ic
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.
Disadvantages of the Only Child.—In the individualistic family of the modern monogamic type the chief need is for every child to have brothers and sisters or at least a brother or sister.
From The Family and it's Members by Spencer, Anna Garlin
The one great fact is that our national code of morality is a monogamic one, approved as ideal even by many of those who fail to live strictly in harmony with its dictates.
From Sex-education A series of lectures concerning knowledge of sex in its relation to human life by Bigelow, Maurice Alpheus
The monogamic system condemns millions of women to celibacy.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
Hence the men, in a body, opposed monogamic unions.
From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by Sumner, William Graham
A girl reared under the monogamic system may look with abhorrence on ours; our young women do not do so.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
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.
