Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

monogamous

/məˈnɑɡəməs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English

Syllables: monog-a-mous
IPA: /məˈnɑɡəməs/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Involving marriage to one person at a time.

adj

Characterized by mutual sexual and romantic exclusivity.

adj

Exclusively engaging in mutually exclusive sexual/romantic partnership.

adj

Having only one sexual partner at a time.

adj

Monogamic; having a simple flower with united anthers.

Example Sentences

"Suppose, for example, that if polygamy were legal, 10 percent of adult men would take an average of three wives apiece and that all remaining marriages would be monogamous."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *men-der. Proto-Hellenic *mónwos Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos) Ancient Greek μονο- (mono-)der. English mono- Proto-Indo-European *ǵem-der. Ancient Greek γᾰ́μος (gắmos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek -γαμία (-gamía)bor. English -gamy Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English -gamous English monogamous From mono- + -gamous.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /məˈnɑɡəməs/
British English: /məˈnɒɡəməs/

Derived Forms

monogamish monogamously monogamousness nonmonogamous trinogamous

Frequently Paired Words

monogamy polygamous

Antonyms

polygamous

Questions

How do you pronounce monogamous?: The recorded pronunciation is /məˈnɑɡəməs/.
What does monogamous mean?: Involving marriage to one person at a time.
Where does monogamous come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *men-der. Proto-Hellenic *mónwos Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos) Ancient Greek μονο- (mono-)der. English mono- Proto-Indo-European *ǵem-der. Ancient Greek γᾰ́μος (gắmos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek -γαμία (-gamía)bor. English -gamy Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English -gamous English monogamous From mono- + -gamous.

How to pronounce monogamous

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “monogamous”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/məˈnɑɡəməs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “monogamous”.
Repeat and practice — Say “monogamous” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.