noun

promiscuity

prah-mis-KYOO-uh-tee/ˌprɑːmɪsˈkjuːəti/

Mixing or associating without selection or restraint.

The novel explores promiscuity without judging its characters or their choices.

A symbolic non-graphic relationship scene: one fully clothed adult's portrait linked to several separate adult partner portraits, no hearts implying exclusivity.

Etymology

proLatinforth, forward

+miscuLatinto mix

+ityFrenchstate or quality

The mixing root underlies an earlier meaning of indiscriminate mixture or confusion. This general condition became a description of sexual relations not restricted to one partner.

In context

ABC News In-depth20:12

it promotes promiscuity. It encourages them to sleep around

Inside the school where 'purity is everything' | Four Corners

More examples

She rejects the idea that promiscuity makes someone a bad person.
The essay's intellectual promiscuity brings together ideas from wildly different traditions.
They disagree about where sexual freedom ends and promiscuity begins.

Forms

promiscuity

promiscuous adjective — Mixing or associating without careful selection.

promiscuously adverb — Without restraint or care in choosing.

Similar words

indiscrimination: Emphasizes failure to distinguish or select, rather than restraint.
licentiousness: Stresses disregard for moral restraints, especially in sexual behavior.