ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Adultery

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /əˈdʌltəɹi/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Adultery is a noun meaning (strictly) Sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their spouse. See more synonyms at Thesaurus:cuckoldry.

Meaning

(strictly) Sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their spouse. See more synonyms at Thesaurus:cuckoldry.

More Meanings

  1. (biblical) Faithlessness in religion.
  2. (ecclesiastical) The intrusion of a person into a bishopric during the life of the bishop.
  3. (political economy) Adulteration; corruption.
  4. (biblical, loosely) Lewdness or unchastity of thought as well as act, as forbidden by the sixth/seventh commandment; sinful sexual behavior as a category.
  5. (obsolete) The fine and penalty formerly imposed for the offence of adultery.
  6. (obsolete) Injury; degradation; ruin.

Example Sentences

Thou shalt not commit adultery.
She engaged in adultery because her spouse has a low libido, while hers is very high.
[…] you might wrest the Caduceus out of my hand, to the adultery and spoil of Nature […]
So also that copulation which in one City is Matrimony, in another will be judged Adultery.

Word Forms

Synonyms for adultery

Depending on context, synonyms include advowtry, fornication.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include fornication, infidelity, adulterer, wife, divorce, adulterous.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.