Meaning & use
adultery
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Meaning
noununcountablelegalreligion
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not that person's spouse.
Grammar: Usually uncountable; use commit adultery, not commit an adultery, in standard English.
Patterns
- commit adultery
- adultery with someone
- accuse someone of adultery
The law once treated adultery as a serious offense in some places.
In the novel, adultery functions as a moral crisis rather than entertainment.
The discussion distinguishes adultery from other forms of betrayal.
Common combinations
- commit adultery
- The historical record shows that the law punished those said to commit adultery.
- grounds for adultery
- In some older legal systems, adultery was listed as grounds for divorce.
- accusation of adultery
- An accusation of adultery could carry severe social consequences.
Synonyms and how they differ
- infidelity
- Infidelity is broader and can include emotional or online betrayal; adultery specifically involves a married person and sexual intercourse.
- unfaithfulness
- Unfaithfulness is general and plain; adultery is narrower and often legal or religious.
- extramarital sex
- This is a neutral descriptive phrase; adultery can carry stronger moral or legal judgment.
- affair
- An affair may be emotional, brief, or unconfirmed; adultery names the act itself more directly.
Opposites
Word family
- adulterer noun
- A person who commits adultery; often carries a disapproving tone.
- adulterous adjective
- Relating to or involving adultery.
- adulteress noun
- A female adulterer; now less common than neutral wording such as a person who commits adultery.
Commonly confused: adultery or adulteration? adultery or infidelity?
adultery vs adulteration
Adulteration means spoiling something by adding inferior or harmful material; it is unrelated to marriage.
adultery vs infidelity
Infidelity is broader and can occur in any committed relationship; adultery requires at least one married participant.
Practice
Adultery is best defined as sexual intercourse involving ___.
Choose one answer.
Adultery specifically requires a married person and a partner who is not their spouse. The other choices describe broader betrayal, ordinary dating, commercial conflict, or dishonesty, not the specific legal and religious sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “adultery”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.