promiscuity
nounUK /ˌpɹɒm.ɪˈskju.ɪ.ti/ · US /ˌpɹɑm.ɪˈskju.ɪ.ti/
Etymology From French promiscuité.
1
The state or quality of being promiscuous.
2
Indiscriminateness in the choice of sexual partners.
- Experimental variety or what Rey Anthony has called selective promiscuity - is the cornerstone of sane sexual choice.1963, Albert Ellis, The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Manhunting, page 129:
- I'm not advocating sexual promiscuity but I think it's possible for a woman to have many kinds of sexual relationships with many men and that shouldn't affect the status of the marriage1975 March 17, Marian Christy, “Suzy Chaffee, A Liberated Beauty”, in The Lebanon Daily News:
2 more examples
- Seeing these happy pairings, I thought of the cheerful promiscuity to come. I felt a growing sexual need, not only for the young women brushing against me in the crowded street...1979, J.G. Ballard, The Unlimited Dream Company, chapter 24:
- As she becomes more conscious of her flirtatious power, she is sometimes urged toward promiscuity.1998 May 14, James Dobson, “Self-worth based on beauty can wither as women age”, in The Woodfield County Journal:
- While I dressed—for Stroeve wished me to go at once with him to the hospital—he told me that he had arranged for his wife to have a private room, so that she might at least be spared the sordid promiscuity of a ward.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 34”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
- Derived terms
- antipromiscuity, superpromiscuity