as in polygamy
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Recent Examples of polygyny
For generations, anthropologists have argued whether humans are evolved for monogamy or some other mating system, such as polygyny, polyandry or promiscuity.
—
Nathan H. Lents, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025
For generations, anthropologists have argued whether humans are evolved for monogamy or some other mating system, such as polygyny, polyandry or promiscuity.
—Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
The transatlantic trade in enslaved people, which produced a dearth of men in West Africa, helps explain the comparatively high prevalence of polygyny there now.
—Stephanie H. Murray, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024
What does the contemporary West African practice of polygyny—one man, many wives—have to do with the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
—Tunku Varadarajan, wsj.com, 20 Apr. 2023
Hummingbirds have a combination of extraordinarily versatile structural coloration in their feather barbules, and a long history of female mate choice (including, exclusive female parental care and polygyny).
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 June 2022
His son has been married four times and resurrected the long-dead institution of polygyny.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2020
Christian Artuso, an ornithologist with Bird Studies Canada, tells the magazine that this heretofore unseen behavior is the first documentation of polygyny (a male mating with two or more females) recorded for great horned owls as a species.
—Saryn Chorney, ajc, 3 May 2018
In fact, the causal relationship between polygyny and conflict is unclear.
—The Economist, 18 Jan. 2018
Nathan H. Lents, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025
For generations, anthropologists have argued whether humans are evolved for monogamy or some other mating system, such as polygyny, polyandry or promiscuity.
—Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
The transatlantic trade in enslaved people, which produced a dearth of men in West Africa, helps explain the comparatively high prevalence of polygyny there now.
—Stephanie H. Murray, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024
What does the contemporary West African practice of polygyny—one man, many wives—have to do with the trans-Atlantic slave trade?
—Tunku Varadarajan, wsj.com, 20 Apr. 2023
Hummingbirds have a combination of extraordinarily versatile structural coloration in their feather barbules, and a long history of female mate choice (including, exclusive female parental care and polygyny).
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 June 2022
His son has been married four times and resurrected the long-dead institution of polygyny.
—Tamara Loos, Foreign Affairs, 7 Dec. 2020
Christian Artuso, an ornithologist with Bird Studies Canada, tells the magazine that this heretofore unseen behavior is the first documentation of polygyny (a male mating with two or more females) recorded for great horned owls as a species.
—Saryn Chorney, ajc, 3 May 2018
In fact, the causal relationship between polygyny and conflict is unclear.
—The Economist, 18 Jan. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polygyny
Noun
-
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890 and strictly prohibits it today.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Husbands don’t go to the doghouse in polygamy.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One particular enemy of Gauguin’s was Bishop Martin, a Catholic priest on Hiva Oa who did his best to stomp out local custom, forbidding tattooing, Polynesian dancing, and the customary practice of polyandry.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
11 July 2025
-
For generations, anthropologists have argued whether humans are evolved for monogamy or some other mating system, such as polygyny, polyandry or promiscuity.—
Nathan H. Lents,
Smithsonian Magazine,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
North Carolina classifies bigamy as a Class I felony, and the charge can result in imprisonment for anyone who knowingly marries while still legally married to another person.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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Three wives in three counties may just be the start for a man facing felony bigamy charges in North Carolina, investigators say.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages.—
Selome Hailu,
Variety,
25 Aug. 2025
-
The notion of destroying marriages and undoing family relationships would be extremely difficult for the Court to justify.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Watch Shiva Baby on Netflix Trainwreck Making her film debut, Amy Schumer (who also wrote the screenplay) takes the lead in this 2015 romantic dramedy as Amy Townsend, a carefree, hedonistic magazine writer raised to believe that monogamy is unrealistic.—
James Mercadante,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
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How tiresome monogamy, married or otherwise, always seemed to her.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Polygyny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polygyny. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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