connubial

American  

[kuh-noo-bee-uhl, -nyoo-] / kəˈnu bi əl, -ˈnyu- /

adjective

1. of marriage or wedlock; matrimonial; conjugal.

   connubial love.

   Synonyms:

   marital, nuptial

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connubial British  

/ kəˈnjuːbɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to marriage; conjugal

   connubial bliss

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Other Word Forms

• connubiality noun
• connubially adverb
• nonconnubial adjective
• nonconnubiality noun
• nonconnubially adverb
• postconnubial adjective
• preconnubial adjective

Etymology

Origin of connubial

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin cōn(n)ūbiālis, equivalent to cōn(n)ūbi(um) “marriage” + -ālis adjective suffix; 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.

Example Sentences

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

“Marry Him” is more measured than its explosive title suggests; and the Times piece at least allows that culture might play a role in how equality influences the connubial bed.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2014

Ms. Cattrall’s celebrity is the principal reason for what may seem like a premature revival of Coward’s 1930 comedy of connubial fisticuffs, which was staged to splendid advantage on Broadway only nine years ago.

From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2011

Pecuniary competency and similarity of taste and disposition are requisites indispensable to connubial felicity.

From Monks, Popes, and their Political Intrigues by Alberger, John