Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Practising or supporting the principle of monogamy.
  • Marrying only once —that is, not remarrying after the death of the spouse: opposed to digamous.
  • Marrying only one at a time: opposed to bigamous or polygamous.
  • Of or pertaining to monogamy: as, monogamous doctrines or customs.
  • In zoology, having only one mate; living in pairs: as, a monogamous family of birds.
  • In botany, having solitary flowers with united anthers, as in Lobelia.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Upholding, or practicing, monogamy.
  • adjective (Bot.) Same as Monogamian.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) Mating with but one of the opposite sex; -- said of birds and mammals.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Being married to one person at a time.
  • adjective zoology Having only one sexual partner at a time.
  • adjective botany monogamic; having a simple flower with united anthers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (used of relationships and of individuals) having one mate

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

mono- + -gamous

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Examples

  • And I admit that it's hard to create and implement condom negotiation strategies geared for married women and women who believe they are in monogamous relationships.

    Kellee Terrell: Oprah Misses the Mark on HIV/AIDS... Again Kellee Terrell 2010

  • And I admit that it's hard to create and implement condom negotiation strategies geared for married women and women who believe they are in monogamous relationships.

    Kellee Terrell: Oprah Misses the Mark on HIV/AIDS... Again Kellee Terrell 2010

  • And so began my Tarzan style of dating—swinging from one long-term monogamous relationship to the next.

    Times Two Kristen Henderson 2011

  • And I admit that it's hard to create and implement condom negotiation strategies geared for married women and women who believe they are in monogamous relationships.

    Kellee Terrell: Oprah Misses the Mark on HIV/AIDS... Again Kellee Terrell 2010

  • And so began my Tarzan style of dating—swinging from one long-term monogamous relationship to the next.

    Times Two Kristen Henderson 2011

  • She raised her four children by Mr. Barker as a single mother, never settling into a long-term monogamous relationship.

    One Writer Sarah Weinman 2010

  • Definitely a YMMV (or YKMV) observation – we and most of our immediate French friends have stayed in monogamous couples and presumably faithful, to the best of my knowledge, for the last fourteen years or thereabouts.

    ring finger 2008

  • Long-term monogamous relationships often run low on libido, especially when the wife has reproduced twice and then flies into the frightening 40s.

    Patricia Yarberry Allen: Want a Major Economic Indicator? The Sex Shop Uptown 2009

  • Both were getting out of long-term monogamous relationships — Terisa had been married for six years — and knew they wanted something different.

    Only You. And You. And You. 2009

  • I just didn't want marriage, as every long-term monogamous relationship always got down to the man not understanding the dedication I had to my work.

    Taylor Marsh: Mika Brzezinski as Life Coach 2009

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