fornication

[ fawr-ni-key-shuhn ]

/ ˌfɔr nɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

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noun

voluntary sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons or two persons not married to each other.

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Origin of fornication

1300–50; Middle English fornicacioun<Late Latin fornicātiōn- (stem of fornicātiō). See fornicate¹, -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM fornication

for·ni·ca·to·ry

[fawr-ni-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], /ˈfɔr nɪ kəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fornication

formication, fornication

Words nearby fornication

formyl group, Fornax, fornenst, Forney, fornicate, fornication, fornicatrix, forniciform, fornix, for one, for one's money

How to use fornication in a sentence

Yes, cities—those reviled warts on the American imagination, the ancient sources of all sin and fornication.
The Scariest Thing About Sandy: Guarding the Water Supply|Kent Sepkowitz|October 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But, despite the obvious temptations, many come to Duck Beach precisely to avoid fornication - by finding a marriage partner.
The Mormon Jersey Shore|McKay Coppins|May 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
And by the facility of her fornication she defiled the land, and played the harlot with stones and with stocks.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
And I said to her that was worn out in her adulteries: Now will this woman still continue in her fornication.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

It signifies a state of depravity,—a quality, and not an act,—and never can be properly translated by "adultery" or "fornication."
My Religion|Leo Tolstoy
Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
The Prophet Ezekiel|Arno C. Gaebelein
With this spiritual fornication, an idolatrous worship, there was connected the grossest lusts of the flesh.
The Prophet Ezekiel|Arno C. Gaebelein

British Dictionary definitions for fornication

fornication

/ (ˌfɔːnɪˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

voluntary sexual intercourse outside marriage

law voluntary sexual intercourse between two persons of the opposite sex, where one is or both are unmarried

Bible sexual immorality in general, esp adultery

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fornication

COMPARE MEANINGS

Origin of fornication

OTHER WORDS FROM fornication

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fornication

Words nearby fornication

Words related to fornication

How to use fornication in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fornication