promiscuous
/pɹəˈmɪs.kju.əs/
promiscuous means made up of various disparate elements mixed together; of disorderly composition. It carries an Arena rating of 1510, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, promiscuous ranks #176 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #551 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #955 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #958 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
promiscuous is pronounced /pɹəˈmɪs.kju.əs/.
Why “promiscuous” is a great word
Having many sexual partners, especially if indiscriminate in choice, or more generally, composed of various disparate elements mixed together without careful selection. From Latin prōmiscuus ('mixed, not separated'), from prō- ('forth') + misceō ('to mix'), first attested in English c. 1600. Unlike 'lascivious' (which brims with lewd intent) or 'celibate' (which holds the quiet rigor of deliberate abstinence), promiscuous describes a scatter, a sowing without discernment. It is the bookshelf arranged by color rather than subject, the accidental brush of foreign fingers at a crowded bar, and the weary, half-remembered faces blurring in a dim-lit bar—a democratic openness that courts chaos, as if discernment were itself a kind of violence against possibility.
Etymology
From Latin prōmiscuus (“mixed, not separated”), from prō (“forth”) + misceō (“mix”).
adj
- Made up of various disparate elements mixed together; of disorderly composition.e.g.“Came singly where he stood on the bare strand, / While the promiscuous croud stood yet aloof.” — 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as
- Made without careful choice; indiscriminate.e.g.“A sail caught by a promiscuous wind.”
- Having many sexual partners, especially if indiscriminate in choice of sexual partners.
- The mode in which an NIC gathers all network traffic instead of getting only the traffic intended for it.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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