Definition of Monogamy
(noun) A type of marriage or sexual relationship involving a singular, permanent partner.
Examples of Monogamy
- One man dates one woman.
- One woman marries another woman.
- serial monogamy
Monogamy Pronunciation
Syllabification: mo·nog·a·my
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /muh-nAHgUH-mee/
- British English – /muh-nOgUH-mee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /məˈnɑɡəmi/
- British English – /məˈnɒɡəmi/
Usage Notes
- Monogamy as a marital norm is contrasted with polygamy, specifically polygyny and polyandry.
- Also called monogamousness.
- A (noun) monogamist (adverb) monogamously participates in a (adjective) monogamous or (adjective) monogamistic relationship.
Related Video
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Sex and Gender Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “monogamy” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Amoateng, Acheampong Yaw, and Heaton, Tim B, eds. 2007. Families and Households in Post-apartheid South Africa: Sociodemographic Perspectives. Cape Town: HSRC.
- Anderson, Eric. 2012. The Monogamy Gap: Men, Love, and the Reality of Cheating. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Bray, Rachel, I. Gooskens, S. Moses, L. Kahn, and J. Seekings. 2010. Growing up in The New South Africa: Childhood and Adolescence in Post-apartheid Cape Town. Cape Town: HSRC.
- Coltrane, Scott. 2004. Families and Society: Classic and Contemporary Readings. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
- Gubrium, Jaber, and Holstein, James. 1990. What Is Family? Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Brinkerhoff, David, Lynn White, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. 2011. Essentials of Sociology. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Ferrante, Joan. 2011. Sociology: A Global Perspective. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Marsh, Ian, and Mike Keating, eds. 2006. Sociology: Making Sense of Society. 3rd ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Tischler, Henry L. 2011. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Monogamy
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “monogamy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved October 2, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/monogamy/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
monogamy. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/monogamy/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “monogamy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed October 2, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/monogamy/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“monogamy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 2 Oct. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/monogamy/>.