adulterous

adjective

adul·​ter·​ous ə-ˈdəl-t(ə-)rəs How to pronounce adulterous (audio)
Synonyms of adulterousnext
: relating to, characterized by, or given to adultery
an adulterous affair
an adulterous wife
adulterously adverb

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of adulterous in a Sentence

had an adulterous affair that nearly destroyed his marriage
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The new version strips down the book’s narrative, concentrating on the plight of an adulterous airline pilot (Cage) who’s forced to land a plane after all the good Christians are called up to heaven. —Emily Heller, Vulture, 12 July 2024 The aforementioned two seasons of Big Little Lies featured Kidman as Celeste Wright, a rich former lawyer and now Monterrey stay-at-home mom with an abusive, adulterous, and freshly dead husband that’s all based on a Liane Moriarty novel. —Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 13 Sep. 2024 Here, the series extends the fallout from a life-defining adulterous affair down the decades. —John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Sep. 2024 For decades, there had been adulterous movie-star romances. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for adulterous 

Word History

Etymology

alteration (conformed to Latin adulter "impure, given to adultery") of earlier advouterous, going back to Middle English advouterose, from avowter "given to adultery" (borrowed from Anglo-French avuiltre, avoutre, going back to Latin adulter) + -ous -ous, -ose -ose entry 1 — more at adulterer

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of adulterous was in 1550

Dictionary Entries Near adulterous

adulterize

adulterous

adultery

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Adulterous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adulterous. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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Legal Definition

adulterous

adjective
adul·​ter·​ous ə-ˈdəl-tə-rəs How to pronounce adulterous (audio)
: relating to, characterized by, or given to adultery
adulterously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on adulterous

Nglish: Translation of adulterous for Spanish Speakers

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