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
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Cite the Definition of Monogamy
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “monogamy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 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 March 28, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/monogamy/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“monogamy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/monogamy/>.