What does adulteress mean?
An adulteress is a woman who commits adultery — that is, a married woman who engages in a sexual relationship with someone other than her husband. The word is the feminine counterpart of 'adulterer', though unlike that term it applies exclusively to women. Historically, it carried severe social and legal weight: in many societies an adulteress faced public shame, divorce, or worse, a stigma memorably dramatized in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'. Today the word survives mainly in formal, literary, and religious contexts, where its moral overtones remain strong. Modern speakers tend to favor the gender-neutral 'adulterer' or plainer terms like 'cheating wife', so calling someone an adulteress can sound old-fashioned or deliberately condemnatory. Its Latin root also gave English 'adultery' and 'adulterate', linking the betrayal of a marriage to the broader idea of corrupting something that should be pure.
nounA woman who commits adultery; a married woman who has sexual relations with someone other than her husband.
- A woman who commits adultery — a married woman who has a sexual relationship with a man other than her husband.
"In the novel, the adulteress is portrayed not as a villain but as a woman trapped in a loveless marriage."
"The community shunned her, branding her an adulteress and driving her from the village."
"Literary critics have long debated whether Hester Prynne should be read as a sinner or as a victim, for the novel never allows the label 'adulteress' to fully define her."
The plural follows standard English noun formation. It is uncommon in modern usage, appearing mostly in historical or literary discussion.
"The chronicle lists several adulteresses who were exiled from the city in the fourteenth century."
The word 'adulteress' shares its Latin root with 'adulterated food' — both trace back to the idea of corrupting something pure.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of adulteress
The word 'adulteress' derives from the Latin 'adultera', the feminine form of 'adulter', meaning one who commits adultery. The Latin root itself comes from 'adulterare', meaning to corrupt or defile, which also produced the English verb 'adulterate'. The term entered English via Old French during the Middle Ages, alongside related forms such as 'adultery' and 'adulterer'. Its cognates appear across the Romance languages, including French 'adultère' and Italian 'adultera'.
How adulteress is actually used
The term is formal and literary rather than conversational. It carries strong moral and religious connotations, rooted in biblical and legal traditions that treated adultery as a grave offense. Because it is gender-specific (applied only to women), modern usage often prefers the gender-neutral 'adulterer' for either sex, and the word can sound archaic or judgmental in contemporary contexts. It appears most frequently in historical fiction, literary criticism, and discussions of religious or legal texts.
Easily confused with adulteress
An adulterer is a man who commits adultery, while an adulteress is specifically a woman who does so.
To adulterate means to make something impure or inferior by adding another substance, whereas an adulteress is a woman guilty of adultery.