Meanings
- uncountableThe practice of having a succession of (especially short) monogamous relationships with different people.
Near-synonym: serial polygamy (derogatory)
4 more examples
Living together without marriage, [...], serial monogamy (with one divorce after another), [...] — these are all gropings toward some new form of man-woman relationship for the future.
1972, Carl R. Rogers, Becoming Partners: Marriage and its Alternatives, page 11For some adolescents, serial monogamy — or a succession of 'permanent' relationships — is the norm, confirming earlier findings with American adolescents reported by Sorensen (1973).
1993, Susan Moore, Doreen Rosenthal, Sexuality in Adolescence, page 127If serial monogamy is the norm, even if individuals have many partners over time, the virus is trapped within relationships and gets around slowly.
2008 March 1, “Sex and sensibility”, in The EconomistPawley was, of course, not the last man to suffer from Taylor's serial monogamy, with the Hollywood star marrying eight times in her life.
2011 March 30, The GuardianSynonyms: serial polygamy
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe practice of having a succession of (especially short) monogamous relationships with different people.
Translations
Finnish peräkkäinen yksiavioisuus
- peräkkäinen yksiavioisuuspractice of having successive marital relationships
Cite this entry
serial monogamy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serial%20monogamy
“serial monogamy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serial%20monogamy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “serial monogamy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serial%20monogamy.
Source: serial monogamy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.