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open marriage

Definition of Open Marriage

(noun) A marriage in which each individual is free to enter into romantic or sexual relationships with others and thus have extramarital relationships.

Open Marriage Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: o·pen mar·riage

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /OH-puhn mAIR-ij/
  • British English – /OH-puhn mAr-ij/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈoʊpən ˈmɛrɪʤ/
  • British English – /ˈəʊpən ˈmærɪʤ/

Usage Notes

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Crooks, Robert, and Karla Baur. 2014. Our Sexuality. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Cite the Definition of Open Marriage

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “open marriage.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 29, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/open-marriage/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

open marriage. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/open-marriage/

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

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “open marriage.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/open-marriage/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“open marriage.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/open-marriage/>.