intermarry

I1N1T1E1R1M3A1R1R1Y4
/ˌɪntə(ɹ)ˈmæɹi/

verb

To marry a member of another group, social stratum, or religion.

“Mary was Catholic and Ron was Jewish, but they decided that it was acceptable to intermarry.”

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Meanings

verbintermarry (third-person singular simple present intermarries, present participle intermarrying, simple past and past participle intermarried)

present singular third person intermarries · participle present intermarrying · participle past intermarried · past intermarried

  1. To marry a member of another group, social stratum, or religion.

    Mary was Catholic and Ron was Jewish, but they decided that it was acceptable to intermarry.

    1 more example

    The state where most intermarriages took place was Hawaii, where more than four in 10 newlyweds (42.4%) were intermarried.

    2012 February 16, Ashley Hayes, “Study: Interracial marriage, acceptance growing”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Mar 2017
  2. To marry within the same ethnic, social, or family group.

    Did European royals sometimes intermarry? Yes. There are a couple of examples of that. The Habsburgs are not beating the allegations.

    2025 April 8, Sarah Stock, “Five Common Myths About White People — Debunked”, in Rift TV, archived from the original on 12 Jan 2026
    1 more example

    Mainland China and Taiwan do not border each other by land; they face each other across a 140-km-wide ocean strait. Taiwan-held Dadan Island sits 2 km away from Xiamen. Xiamenese can use binoculars to observe their kinfolk on Dadan Island, with whom they have traditionally intermarried (Mellor, 1993).

    2005, Xiangming Chen, “The Greater Southeast China Subregion”, in As Borders Bend: Transnational Spaces on the Pacific Rim, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 91–92

    Synonyms: intramarry

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo marry within the same ethnic, social, or family group.

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Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁n̥tér
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥ter
  4. Latininter
  5. Latininter-
  6. Englishinter-
  7. Englishmarry
  8. Englishintermarry

From inter- + marry.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Irish pós a chéile, pós a muintir féin
  • pós a chéileto marry a member of another group
  • pós a muintir féinto marry within the same group
Italian imparentarsi, apparentarsi
  • imparentarsito marry a member of another group
  • apparentarsito marry a member of another group
  • imparentarsito marry within the same group
  • apparentarsito marry within the same group
Māori moe whakawhitiwhiti
  • moe whakawhitiwhitito marry a member of another group

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with intermarry

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

intermarry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intermarry

MLA

“intermarry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intermarry. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “intermarry,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intermarry.

Source: intermarry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.