miscegenation

noun

mis·​ce·​ge·​na·​tion (ˌ)mi-ˌse-jə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce miscegenation (audio)
ˌmi-si-jə-ˈnā-
: a mixture of races
especially : marriage, cohabitation, or sexual intercourse between a white person and a member of another race (see race entry 1 sense 1a)

Note: The word miscegenation is associated especially with historical laws against interracial marriage. In the United States, such laws were declared unconstitutional in 1967.

miscegenational adjective

Examples of miscegenation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Their mutual groping, filmed in blue light, could be the most frank miscegenation ever put on film. Armond White, National Review, 30 Oct. 2024 In practice, this amounted to a bizarre, Stasi-like effort to micromanage the dating scene in a town of 100,000—and to stamp out religious miscegenation at first flush. Mohammad Ali, WIRED, 14 Apr. 2020 In 1924, he was tapped for the lead in Eugene O’Neill’s All God’s Chillun Got Wings, a controversial play about miscegenation. Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2024 Indeed, by the 1930s, Hollywood’s Hays Code included among its don’ts miscegenation. Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for miscegenation 

Word History

Etymology

irregular from Latin miscēre to mix + genus race — more at mix, kin

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of miscegenation was in 1863

Dictionary Entries Near miscegenation

Cite this Entry

“Miscegenation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miscegenation. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

miscegenation

noun
mis·​ce·​ge·​na·​tion (ˌ)mis-ˌej-ə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce miscegenation (audio)
ˌmis-i-jə-ˈnā-
: a mixture of races
especially : marriage, cohabitation, or sexual intercourse between a white person and a member of another race
used especially in now repealed laws of the past

More from Merriam-Webster on miscegenation

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