Definition of Bigamy
(noun) The condition or practice of being married to multiple spouses at the same time, typically, with the connotation of illegality.
Examples of Bigamy
- Marrying another person before you have legally divorced your past partner.
- A man married to more than one woman in the United States.
Bigamy Pronunciation
Syllabification: big·a·my
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /bIgUH-mee/
- British English – /bIgUH-mee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈbɪɡəmi/
- British English – /ˈbɪɡəmi/
Usage Notes
- Plural: bigamies
- Bigamy is the same as polygamy and used more commonly outside of the social sciences, particularly in law and is punishable as a crime in some locales.
- Bigamy is an issue due to the increase in immigration of people from one from different societies and cultures. Polygamy may be legal where they come from, but not where they emigrating.
- A (noun) bigamist (adverb) bigamously engages in a (adjective) bigamous or (adjective) bigamistic relationship.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “bigamy” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- What is Bigamy? – Wisegeek: Clear Answers for Common Questions: wisegeek.org
Related Terms
Cite the Definition of Bigamy
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “bigamy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved June 5, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/bigamy/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
bigamy. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/bigamy/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “bigamy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/bigamy/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“bigamy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 5 Jun. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/bigamy/>.