# adultery

/əˈdəɫtɝi/ (US) · /ɐdˈʌltəɹi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/adultery
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. infidelity in marriage

noun · CEFR B2

the act of having a sexual relationship with someone else while you are married.

For teachers: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than their legal spouse.

- He was shocked to discover that his wife had committed adultery during their first year of marriage.
- Historically, adultery served as one of the primary legal grounds for a fault-based divorce in many jurisdictions.

### 2. religious faithlessness

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary

in some religions, being unfaithful to God or your religious beliefs.

For teachers: a metaphorical extension denoting faithlessness or spiritual unfaithfulness, particularly in a theological context.

- The prophet warned the people against spiritual adultery and following other gods.
- The text employs the metaphor of adultery to describe the nation's abandonment of its ancestral covenant in favour of foreign idols.

### 3. corruption or impurity

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

the act of making something less pure by adding something else to it.

For teachers: the process of corrupting or debasing something; a synonym for adulteration.

- The old laws were meant to prevent the adultery of the local wine supply.
- The scholar argued that the adultery of the original manuscript by later editors had obscured the author's true intent.

## Examples

- Adultery can end a marriage quickly.
- The couple separated after he admitted to adultery with a colleague.
- In many legal systems, adultery remains a valid ground for divorce, though its social stigma has diminished significantly in recent decades.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.