Showing results for marital rape. Search instead for marital+status.

marital rape

American

[mar-i-tl reyp] / ˈmær ɪ tl ˌreɪp /

noun

sexual assault perpetrated by someone who is the spouse or long-term domestic partner of the person they assault.

Etymology

Origin of marital rape

First recorded in 1895–1900

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.

By 1993, marital rape was a crime in all 50 states.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Ms Lofty's organisation has helped to draft a bill which specifically names marital rape.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2022

And last Wednesday in India, the Delhi High Court issued a split verdict in the case challenging the country’s marital rape exception.

From New York Times • May 19, 2022

All the way up to the 1990s, Hale's views on rape, particularly marital rape, were commonly cited in English and American jurisprudence.

From Salon • May 11, 2022

It might be tempting to suppose that modern America has wholly repudiated marital rape exemptions.

From Washington Post • May 9, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023