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

The answer may be linked to the studied species’ promiscuous practices: in the Amboseli population, both sexes have multiple mating partners, so paternity isn’t always clear-cut. —Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 18 June 2025

Evelyn is everything that Gilded Age society reviles — promiscuous, an actress, and most notably, a plus-size performer. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 19 May 2025

There’s a playful and almost promiscuous energy to the way Koepp keeps pairing his characters off, in new and surprising configurations, and the actors all rise to the challenge with astonishing dexterity. —Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025

Lois, no longer a promiscuous drag king, remains mischievous and irrepressible, even while getting pilloried on Fox News for leading a school workshop on gender identity. —Charlie Tyson, New Yorker, 4 June 2025

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