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homogamy

Definition of Homogamy

(noun) A marriage or other relationship between people with similar characteristics (e.g., age and appearance) and statuses such as socioeconomics or ethnicity.

Example of Homogamy

Homogamy Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ho·mog·a·my

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /hoh-mAHgUH-mee/
  • British English – /huh-mOgUH-mee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English: /hoˈmɑɡəmɪ/
  • British English: /həˈmɒgəmɪ/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: homogamies
  • Homogamy can be understood as “like being with like.”
  • A tendency towards homogamy occurs because of proximity, which is called propinquity or spatial nearness. People become involved with people they meet in their typical social settings like houses of worships (religious homogamy) or school (social homogamy) that share similar ethnicities (ethnic homogamy or racial homogamy), expectations, norms, and values.
  • Homogamic relationships are often isogamic as well.
  • Intercultural marriages confront homogamy.
  • A type of hypogamy; marriage; and marriage system.
  • Homogamy is the opposite of heterogamy.
  • Type: endogamy
  • An (noun) homogamist (adverb) homogamatically marries outside their group to create an (adjective) homogamic or (adjective) homogamous relationship.

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Brinkerhoff, David, Lynn White, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. 2011. Essentials of Sociology. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

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Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.

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Tischler, Henry L. 2011. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Homogamy

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “homogamy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 29, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/homogamy/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

homogamy. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/homogamy/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “homogamy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/homogamy/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“homogamy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/homogamy/>.