promiscuous
Promiscuous (adj) means having sexual relationships with many different partners, often casually. Example: “The show was criticized for portraying its promiscuous characters without any consequences.”
How to use promiscuous
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMost often describes someone with many casual sexual partners; can also describe a disorderly mixture.
In networking, "promiscuous mode" describes a network card that reads all traffic rather than just its own — a technical, non-judgmental use of the word.
Word forms
- Comparative
- more promiscuous
- Superlative
- most promiscuous
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The show was criticized for portraying its _____ characters without any consequences.
Etymology
From Latin prōmiscuus ("mixed, undivided"), from prō- ("forth") plus misceō ("to mix").