connubial
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of connubial
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin cōn(n)ūbiālis, equivalent to cōn(n)ūbi(um) “marriage” + -ālis adjective suffix; see origin at co-, nuptial, -al 1
Explanation
Use the adjective connubial to describe something that relates to marriage or to the relationship between spouses, such as connubial bliss or a connubial argument about who will take out the trash. Accent the second syllable in connubial: "ka-NEW-bee-ul." The Latin prefix con- means "together" and nubilis means "marriageable," which itself comes from nubere, meaning "take as husband." Nubere is also responsible for the word nubile, which was coined in the 1640s to describe a woman who was considered "marriage material." Today, it refers to a young, attractive woman.
Vocabulary lists containing connubial
Great Expectations
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Pride and Prejudice
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The Time Machine
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
McLeod-Skinner, who is an attorney and natural-resources consultant, said she finds it easier to talk policy than about her relationship — but not because of a lack of connubial bliss.
From Washington Post • Oct. 21, 2022
This one’s for spouses who feel the need to vent volcanically after months of cheek-by-jowl connubial togetherness.
From New York Times • May 31, 2020
Who would know better than Eliot that connubial happiness in the capital can sometimes cost a woman her reputation back in the Midlands?
From The Guardian • Apr. 21, 2018
She has taken on her husband’s signature pout, in a connubial version of people who grow to look like their dogs.
From The New Yorker • May 9, 2016
Also some of "Mrs. Rameses," as Gaddis called her—no particular Mrs. Rameses—there having been several of her; just a sort of generic type of connubial happiness, I suppose.
From The Ship Dwellers A Story of a Happy Cruise by Paine, Albert Bigelow
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
