adultery

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noun adul·tery \ ə-ˈdəl-t(ə-)rē \

Definition of adultery

plural adulteries

:voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband; also :an act of adultery

See adultery defined for English-language learners

See adultery defined for kids

Examples of adultery in a Sentence

He found out that his wife had committed adultery.
She accused her husband of adultery.

Recent Examples of adultery from the Web

While Taylor's vindictive lyrics are subject to interpretation, they are remarkably well-suited to the characters of Shondaland, who've been made to do plenty of things — treason, murder, adultery, perjury, more murder.

— eliza thompson, Cosmopolitan, "Taylor Swift's New Song Already Has a Starring Role in the New #TGIT Promo," 25 Aug. 2017
Gen. David R.E. Hale pleaded guilty at court-martial after he was accused of committing adultery with the wives of four subordinates.

— craig whitlock, Washington Post, "In rare spectacle, Army court-martials a retired general," 25 Aug. 2017
A man who obviously glorified adultery and perjury.

— seth a. richardson, cleveland.com, "GOP candidates for governor, senate respond to Trump's presser: Ohio Politics Roundup," 17 Aug. 2017
Karma has come full circle for the adultery-enabling website Ashley Madison.

— katie van syckle, The Cut, "Ashley Madison Will Pay Users Up to $3500 for Ruining Their Lives," 15 July 2017
The video also included footage of stonings, beheadings, and amputations for charges like theft, drug dealing, and adultery.

— aria bendix, The Atlantic, "Nigeria Suicide Bombings Kill At Least 17," 12 July 2017
Fatima still has nightmares about the time she was forced, along with several other captive girls, to stone a couple to death for the sin of committing adultery.

— TIME.com, "Boko Haram’s Other Victims," 27 June 2017
Rachel was absent from the proceedings, and the 12-person jury found her guilty of abandoning her husband and living in adultery with another man.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "Rachel Jackson, the Scandalous Divorcee Who Almost Became First Lady," 16 June 2017
Composed by J.L. Molloy and G. Clifton Bingham in 1884, the song serves as a recurring reminder of adultery.

— joe lynch, Billboard, "Celebrate Bloomsday With the Songs of James Joyce's 'Ulysses'," 16 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adultery.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

What’s the difference between adultery and fornication?

In case you were wondering, the words adultery and adult are not etymologically related (in other words, adultery didn’t grow out of adult in the way that punditry grew out of pundit). Although both words come from Latin and share the same first five letters, adultery is from adulterāre (“to pollute, defile, commit adultery”), a word formed ultimately from the Latin elements ad- “to, near” and alter “other.” English adult comes from adultus, which is the past participle of the Latin word adolescere (“to grow up”).

In legal use there is a difference between adultery and fornication. Adultery is only used when at least one of the parties involved (either male or female) is married, whereas fornication may be used to describe two people who are unmarried (to each other or anyone else) engaging in consensual sexual intercourse.

Origin and Etymology of adultery

Middle English, alteration of avoutrie, from Anglo-French avulterie, from Latin adulterium, from adulter adulterer, back-formation from adulterare — see ¹adulterate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

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adultery Synonyms

Synonyms

cheating, infidelity, misconduct, two-timing, unfaithfulness

Antonyms

faithfulness, fidelity

Related Words

criminal conversation; free love, promiscuity; disloyalty, faithlessness, falseness, inconstancy, perfidiousness, perfidy, treachery; affair (also affaire), amour, fling, love, love affair, romance; intrigue; attachment, infatuation; entanglement, flirtation; liaison, passion

Near Antonyms

allegiance, constancy, dedication, devotedness, devotion, fealty, loyalty, steadfastness

Other Sociology Terms

bourgeois, ethos, eugenics, exurb, incommunicado, intelligentsia, megalopolis, metrosexual, mores, subculture

ADULTERY Defined for English Language Learners

adultery

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noun

Definition of adultery for English Language Learners

: sex between a married person and someone who is not that person's wife or husband

Law Dictionary

adultery

noun adul·tery \ ə-ˈdəl-tə-rē \

legal Definition of adultery

:voluntary sexual activity (as sexual intercourse) between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband; also :the crime of adultery — compare fornication

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