a·dul·ter·y

(ə-dŭl′tə-rē, -trē)

n. pl. a·dul·ter·ies

Consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and a person other than the spouse.

[Middle English, from Old French adultere, from Latin adulterium, from adulter, adulterer; see adulterate.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

adultery

(əˈdʌltərɪ)

n, pl -teries

(Law) voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man or woman and a partner other than the legal spouse

[C15: adulterie, altered (as if directly from Latin adulterium) from C14 avoutrie, via Old French from Latin adulterium, from adulter, back formation from adulterāre. See adulterate]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•dul•ter•y

(əˈdʌl tə ri)

n., pl. -ter•ies.

voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her lawful spouse.

[1325–75; Middle English a(d)vouterie < Old French avoutrie < Latin adulterium=adulter (adulterāre adulterate) + -ium -ium¹]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

adultery - extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations; "adultery is often cited as grounds for divorce"

criminal conversation, fornication

extramarital sex, free love - sexual intercourse between individuals who are not married to one another

adultery

noun unfaithfulness, infidelity, cheating (informal), fornication, playing the field (slang), extramarital sex, playing away from home (slang), illicit sex, unchastity, extramarital relations, extracurricular sex (informal), extramarital congress, having an affair or a fling She is going to divorce him on the grounds of adultery.
fidelity, chastity, faithfulness

Quotations
"It is not marriage but a mockery of it, a merging that mixes love and dread together like jackstraws" [Alexander Theroux An Adultery]
"Adultery is the application of democracy to love" [H.L. Mencken]
"The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop" [John Updike Couples]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

زِنَى

cizoložství

ægteskabsbrudutroskab

preljub

házasságtörés

framhjáhald, hjúskaparbrot

adulterio adulterino

svetimavimas

ekteskapsbrudd utroskap

cudzołóstwo

adultério

адюльтер прелюбодеяние супружеская измена

cudzoložstvo

hor

zina

通奸

adultery

[əˈdʌltərɪ] N → adulterio m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

adultery

[əˈdʌltəri] n → adultère m
to commit adultery → commettre l'adultère

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

adultery

n → Ehebruch m; to commit adultery → Ehebruch begehen; because of his adultery with three actresses → weil er mit drei Schauspielerinnen Ehebruch begangen hatte

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

adultery

[əˈdʌltərɪ] n → adulterio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

adultery

(əˈdaltəri) noun

sexual intercourse between a husband and a woman who is not his wife or between a wife and a man who is not her husband.

adultery

n. adulterio.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

They have here a particular way of punishing adultery; a woman convicted of that crime is condemned to forfeit all her fortune, is turned out of her husband's house, in a mean dress, and is forbid ever to enter it again; she has only a needle given her to get her living with.

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A sedition also arose at Heraclea, from a certain person being condemned by the court; and at Thebes, in consequence of a man's being guilty of adultery; [1306b] the punishment indeed which Eurytion suffered at Heraclea was just, yet it was illegally executed: as was that at Thebes upon Archias; for their enemies endeavoured to have them publicly bound in the pillory.

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But the position of a man pursuing a married woman, and, regardless of everything, staking his life on drawing her into adultery, has something fine and grand about it, and can never be ridiculous; and so it was with a proud and gay smile under his mustaches that he lowered the opera glass and looked at his cousin.

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Mingott's bedroom) to picture her blameless life led in the stage-setting of adultery; but he said to himself, with considerable admiration, that if a lover had been what she wanted, the intrepid woman would have had him too.

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For gif adultery, sacrilege, oppression, barbarous cruelty, and theft heaped upon theft, deserve hell, the great King of Carrick can no more escape hell for ever, than the imprudent Abbot escaped the fire for a season as follows.

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No one will be less likely to commit adultery, or to dishonour his father and mother, or to fall in his religious duties?

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What, you have forgot, I suppose, when you beat me into a fit, and made the blood run down my forehead, because I only civilly taxed you with adultery! but I can prove it by all my neighbours.

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He took up a strip of proof instead, ran down it with a blue eye, and a blue pencil, altered the word "adultery" to the word "impropriety," and the word "Jew" to the word "Alien," rang a bell and sent it flying upstairs.

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And how shall a blessing succeed your endeavours in this place, however good in themselves, and however sincere in your design, while these men, who at present are your subjects, under your absolute government and dominion, are allowed by you to live in open adultery?"

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The chief was at this time rather notorious from having lately hung one of his wives and a slave for adultery. When one of the missionaries remonstrated with him he seemed surprised, and said he thought he was exactly following the English method.

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A LOOPHOLE that means married gay men and women are not committing adultery if they cheat with someone of their gender has been slammed ahead of Pride celebrations.

Same-sex 'adultery' loophole

Members of a Senate committee contemplated the potential family law consequences of repealing the rarely charged crime of adultery and contemplated a broader discussion about moving toward no-fault divorce.

Committee discusses adultery repeal, move toward no-fault divorce