assortative

adjective

as·​sor·​ta·​tive ə-ˈsȯr-tə-tiv How to pronounce assortative (audio)
: being nonrandom mating based on like or unlike characteristics
assortatively adverb

Examples of assortative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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These assortative alliances will be fully voluntarist—to be joined and abandoned as one pleases. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024 Even taking assortative mating into account, that argument would still appear to hold water. Grace Huckins, WIRED, 12 Dec. 2022 What all this amounts to is, in essence, a supercharged version of an existing process known as assortative mating. The Economist, 9 Nov. 2019 But Scheidel points out that in postindustrial economies, elite schools disproportionately serve the children of privileged parents, and assortative mating—the tendency of people to marry their socioeconomic peers—magnifies the resulting inequalities. Timur Kuran, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017 Opposing forces influence assortative mating so that one seeks a similar mate while at the same time avoiding inbreeding with close relatives. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 24 July 2013

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of assortative was in 1895

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Cite this Entry

“Assortative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assortative. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Medical Definition

assortative

adjective
as·​sor·​ta·​tive ə-ˈsȯrt-ət-iv How to pronounce assortative (audio)
: being nonrandom mating based on like or unlike characteristics
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