miscegenation

noun

mis·​ce·​ge·​na·​tion (ˌ)mi-ˌse-jə-ˈnā-shən 

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

(ˌ)mi-ˌse-jə-ˈnā-sh(ə-)nəl 

ˌmi-si-jə-ˈnā-

adjective

Examples of miscegenation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing miscegenation

• anti-miscegenation

Kids Definition

miscegenation

noun

mis·​ce·​ge·​na·​tion (ˌ)mis-ˌej-ə-ˈnā-shən 

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—used especially in now repealed laws of the past