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British

promiscuous

[ pruh-mis-kyoo-uhs ]

/ prəˈmɪs kyu əs /

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adjective

characterized by or involving indiscriminate mingling or association, especially having sexual relations with a number of partners on a casual basis.

consisting of parts, elements, or individuals of different kinds brought together without order.

indiscriminate; without discrimination; not selective.

casual; irregular; haphazard.

OTHER WORDS FOR promiscuous

1 licentious; abandoned, wild.

2 mixed, confused, jumbled; motley.

3 random, nonselective, undiscriminating, unmethodical, unselective, unsystematic.

4 thoughtless, unthinking, unconsidered.

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OPPOSITES FOR promiscuous

1 chaste.

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VIDEO FOR PROMISCUOUS

Why Is The Word "Promiscuous" Mostly Used For Women?

The word promiscuous seems only ever to describe two things. First, sex, and second, women. Is promiscuous just a dressed-up attempt to avoid words like slutty or whore?

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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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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

synonym study for promiscuous

2. See miscellaneous.

OTHER WORDS FROM promiscuous

pro·mis·cu·ous·ly, adverbpro·mis·cu·ous·ness, nounhy·per·pro·mis·cu·ous, adjectivehy·per·pro·mis·cu·ous·ly, adverb

hy·per·pro·mis·cu·ous·ness, nounnon·pro·mis·cu·ous, adjectivenon·pro·mis·cu·ous·ly, adverbnon·pro·mis·cu·ous·ness, nounun·pro·mis·cu·ous, adjectiveun·pro·mis·cu·ous·ly, adverbun·pro·mis·cu·ous·ness, noun

Words nearby promiscuous

prominence, prominent, prominently, prominent moth, promiscuity, promiscuous, promise, Promised Land, promisee, promising, promisor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use promiscuous in a sentence

Chimps are extremely promiscuous, so if you want to be the father, you have to contend with the female having mated with multiple males.
Humans Are One Mixed-Up Ape - Facts So Romantic|Phil Jaekl|July 9, 2021|Nautilus
He declared that Western women are sexually promiscuous in a manner not even found in the natural world.
50 Shades of Iran: The Mullahs’ Kinky Fantasies about Sex in the West|IranWire, Shima Sharabi|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
War makes strange bedfellows and the U.S. has certainly been promiscuous before choosing its allies in past wars.
America Has an Unannounced ISIS Strategy, And It Involves Iran|Jacob Siegel|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mandegary declared Western women are sexually promiscuous in a manner not even found in the natural world.
The Iranian Islamic Fundamentalist’s Handbook on Sex in the West|IranWire|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Second, I have a pretty promiscuous relationship to the rules.
Forget Bipartisan Golf, Obama, and Play Against Me|Michael Tomasky|May 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This “promiscuous” invocation of religious freedom would deny equal rights to those with different religious convictions—or none.
How ‘Religious Freedom’ Is Hurting Everyone’s Freedom|Robert Shrum|March 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet even for the professional vagrant the promiscuous London casual ward of 1864 was not to be extended.
English Poor Law Policy|Sidney Webb
The galleries are used by a promiscuous company of worshippers, who keep good order and make no undue noises.
Our Churches and Chapels|Atticus
But, how shall we know the wisest and the best from the most depraved, in such a promiscuous throng as usually crowd a theatre?
The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. II (of 2)|Timothy East
Men wreck marriage because they are promiscuous; and women wreck it because they are parasites.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society|Upton Sinclair
Gerard was not going to throw himself into any vulgar promiscuous struggle, and collected himself with an effort.
The Luck of Gerard Ridgeley|Bertram Mitford

British Dictionary definitions for promiscuous

promiscuous

/ (prəˈmɪskjʊəs) /

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

Derived forms of promiscuous

promiscuously, adverbpromiscuousness, noun

Word Origin for promiscuous

C17: from Latin prōmiscuus indiscriminate, from pro- 1 + miscēre to mix

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012