Der außerehel. Geschlechtsverkehr zw. Personen, von denen wenigstens eine verheiratet ist. Der E. ist in der BR Deutschland seit 1969 nicht mehr strafbar. In der Schweiz und in Österr. wird der E. auf Verlangen des verletzten Partners bestraft.
Quality of being adulterous, infidelity, unfaithfulness
ETYM Latin adulterium. Related to Advoutry.
Extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations; SYN. criminal conversation, fornication.
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her legal partner.
It is almost universally recognized as grounds for divorce in the US, and is a punishable offense in some states. The legal definition of adultery varies: in some states both parties have to be married (to other people); in others it is adultery if the woman is married but not if only the man is married, and so on.