adulteress

American  

[uh-duhl-ter-is, -tris] / əˈdʌl tər ɪs, -trɪs /

noun

1. a woman who commits adultery.

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adulteress British  

/ əˈdʌltərəs /

noun

1. a woman who has committed adultery

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Usage

What does adulteress mean? An adulteress is a woman who engages in adultery—a consensual sexual relationship or encounter between someone who’s married and a person they’re not married to (who may or may not be married to someone else).Adulteress is a form of the word adulterer, which refers to a person who engages in adultery but does not specify their gender. There is no exclusively male equivalent of adulteress. This reflects the fact that it has been more common throughout history for women to be blamed—and punished—for adulterous relationships than men.Typically, for something to be considered adultery, at least one of the partners must be married. In other words, the adulterers can be two people who are both married to other people, or a married person and a nonmarried person. In any case, the word adulterer can be applied to both people in the adulterous relationship (not just the one who’s married). Adulteress, however, is most often used to refer to a woman who has cheated on her husband.When it happens with someone other than one’s spouse, a long-term relationship (often called an affair), a single sexual encounter, or anything in between can be considered to constitute adultery. In some cases, a relationship may even be considered adultery when it’s nonsexual but intimate (this is sometimes called an emotional affair).The word adultery is especially used in a religious context, in which it’s often considered a sin. It’s also sometimes used in a legal context, such as during divorce proceedings. Adultery is a crime in some places (including in some U.S. states, though people aren’t often charged for it).Adultery is associated with a considerable amount of stigma. The word adulteress is always used negatively and implies a critical judgment of such actions.Example: She’s a serial adulteress who doesn’t even attempt to hide her affairs.

Gender

What's the difference between adulteress and adulterer? See -ess.

Etymology

Origin of adulteress

First recorded in 1350–1400; adulter(er) + -ess; replacing Middle English avoutresse

Example Sentences

“I want to uncover the motivations behind the hostility and resentment, the resistance really, against certain women who are cultural signifiers: the adulteress, the stepmother, the indolent, hollow wealthy housewife,” she said.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2018

“He gets down in the dirty places of life. Does that make Jesus complicit with an adulteress? No. Because you stand with people doesn’t mean you’re complicit with them.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2017

Her inattention exposes the holes in Heywood's play: what, actually, is so wrong with one of the marriages, and why is the adulteress let off the hook because her seducer was charming?

From The Guardian • Jul. 23, 2011

Whale, who had directed Frankenstein the year before, put Stuart in The Old Dark House, then cast her as a furtive adulteress in a 1933 nonhorror drama, The Kiss Before the Mirror.

From Time • Sep. 29, 2010

“She is nothing to do with you. Get out! And she is an adulteress, whatever she says.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White