promiscuous

adjective

pro·​mis·​cu·​ous prə-ˈmi-skyə-wəs 

1

: having or involving many sexual partners : not restricted to one sexual partner or few sexual partners

2

: not restricted to one class, sort, or person : indiscriminate

education … cheapened through the promiscuous distribution of diplomas

—Norman Cousins

3

: casual, irregular

promiscuous eating habits

4

: composed of all sorts of persons or things

promiscuously adverb

promiscuousness noun

Did you know?

The Multiple Meanings of Promiscuous

Promiscuous (from Latin promiscuus “without distinction, taken from every different type”) has a range of meanings in English. The oldest of these is “composed of all sorts of persons and things” (as in “a promiscuous array of books” or “the promiscuous company at the tavern”). This meaning suggests a random assortment, not necessarily with negative implications.

Within the last few hundred years, promiscuous has added the usually negatively-tinged meanings “indiscriminate” (“promiscuous destruction by bombing”), “casual or careless” (“the president’s promiscuous dishonesty”), and of course, “not restricted to one sexual partner.”

Does this mean that the word itself is promiscuous? Not at all. It is not uncommon for English words to display this polysemous (“having multiple meanings”) character, and promiscuous is actually on the tidy end of the spectrum, as far as these things go. Some English words have dozens of meanings.

Synonyms

• assorted
• eclectic
• heterogeneous
• indiscriminate
• kitchen-sink
• magpie
• miscellaneous
• mixed
• motley
• patchwork
• piebald
• raggle-taggle
• ragtag
• varied

Examples of promiscuous in a Sentence

a promiscuous selection of poems

since I just collect stamps that I happen to like, my collection is pretty promiscuous

Recent Examples on the Web

At once too frigid and too promiscuous within the terms of early psychoanalysis, the anorexic woman’s appetites (or lack thereof) were a threat to the cultural order. —Anna Shechtman, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024

My overflowing shelves reflect my literary tastes: chaotic, promiscuous and shallow. —New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024

Crocs, those plastic slip-on shoes, are the most promiscuous of this bunch, pairing up with Pop-Tarts, KFC, and McDonald’s (for a violently purple Grimace edition), among others. —Emily Heil, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024

In a study from 2021 on Japanese macaques, younger macaques who seldom got a fortuitous chance to mate were seen masturbating more often than elders who were highly promiscuous. —Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023

Graham represents something of a subversive anomaly here, considering her early filmography consisting almost entirely of promiscuous ingenues plus one of her other 2023 releases, the Lovecraftian occult film Suitable Flesh. —Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 5 Dec. 2023

Despite Simmons' promiscuous years, the spouses have continued to make their relationship work. —Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2023

They are often stereotyped as promiscuous and responsible for their disappearance. —Natalie Wilson, Essence, 2 Sep. 2023

Tech journalists, who were overwhelmingly men, implied that Allison was promiscuous. —Taylor Lorenz, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Latin promiscuus, from pro- forth + miscēre to mix — more at pro-, mix

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Kids Definition

promiscuous

adjective

pro·​mis·​cu·​ous prə-ˈmis-kyə-wəs 

1

: composed of all sorts of persons and things : miscellaneous

2

: not restricted to one person or class

especially : not restricted to one sexual partner

promiscuously adverb

Medical Definition

promiscuous

adjective

pro·​mis·​cu·​ous prə-ˈmis-kyə-wəs 

: not restricted to one sexual partner