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 of adulterous

Relevance
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 supernatural thriller sees a woman return from death as a vindictive spirit to torment her adulterous husband. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 26 June 2025 As with the true story of the adulterous writers, there’s something at the center of The Disappear that feels cringily solipsistic. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2026 But the gamesmanship, foreshadowing the adulterous antics of Harold Pinter’s plays, escalates perilously. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026 Fiction is inherently adulterous. — Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026 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

Browse Nearby Words

adulterize
adulterous
adultery
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Adulterous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adulterous. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All