adultery

CEFRC2

/əˈdʌltəɹi/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Sex between a married person and someone who is not their spouse.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Faithlessness in religion.

Examples

  • According to many religions, adultery is a crime.

  • The crime of adultery was abolished in 1947.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Lewdness or unchastity of thought as well as act, as forbidden by the sixth/seventh commandment; sinful sexual behavior as a category.

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

  3. The intrusion of a person into a bishopric during the life of the bishop.

More examples

In context

  • She engaged in adultery because her spouse has a low libido, while hers is very high.

  • Thou shalt not commit adultery.

  • So also that copulation which in one City is Matrimony, in another will be judged Adultery.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In their culture, committing blank is considered a serious betrayal of one's spouse.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

With change of suffix, from the Old French adultere (“violation of conjugal faith”) (in Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons, 12c.), a learnèd borrowing from Latin adulterium, from adulterō. Replaced the older form avoutrie, from the inherited Old French forms avouterie or aoulterie, while keeping its suffix. Compare French adultère (“adultery”). Displaced Old English ǣwbryċe. Not related to adult.