polygamous

adjective

po·lyg·a·mous pə-ˈli-gə-məs

: relating to or practicing polygamy

: having more than one mate at one time

baboons are polygamous

: bearing both hermaphrodite and unisexual flowers on the same plant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web For members of the Centennial Park polygamous community, who share many FLDS beliefs but not an allegiance to Warren Jeffs, attitudes about alcohol are even more relaxed. —

Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Aug. 2022 About the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. —

Peggy Fletcher Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 Sep. 2022 At one extreme, polygamous gorilla males grow to be more than twice as massive as females. —

Blake Edgar, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016 As for Kody's own romantic life, his polygamous marriages with first wife Meri Brown and second wife Janelle Brown also recently came to an end. —

Brandon Livesay, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2023 Bateman lived in Colorado City among a patchwork of devout members of the polygamous FLDS, ex-church members and those who don't practice the beliefs. —

Felicia Fonseca, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2022 Striped skunks are polygamous, with some males having a harem of several females. —

René A. Guzman, ExpressNews.com, 27 Oct. 2020 Christine was previously married to Kody Brown for nearly 26 years, becoming the first of Kody's four wives to leave their polygamous arrangement. —

Emily Strohm, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023 This flexibility might apply as well to Catholics in non-recognized polygamous unions, who are also not permitted to receive Communion at present. —

Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 4 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polygamous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin & Greek; Medieval Latin polygamus, borrowed from Greek polýgamos "married several times," from poly- poly- + -gamos -gamous

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of polygamous was in 1547

See more words from the same year