adultery

/əˈdʌltəɹi/

//əˈdʌltəɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"adultery" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adultery” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,838. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,838
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their spouse. See more synonyms at Thesaurus:cuckoldry

Corpus desk

Index EN-adultery · adultery · English

adultery · rank #16,838 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,838
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abbas

Nearest frequency peer: abbas (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “adultery”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “adultery” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for adultery
PropertyValue
Headwordadultery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈdʌltəɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#16,838
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adultery”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).adulterylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “abbas” (#16,837), “agile” (#16,839), “aides” (#16,840). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adultery” is #16,838. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around adultery (IPA /əˈdʌltəɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,838 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for adultery, with forms such as "addultery", "adlutery", and "aduletry". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: With change of suffix, from the Old French adultere (“violation of conjugal faith”) (in Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons, 12c.), a learnèd borrowing from Latin adulterium, from adulterō. Replaced the older form avoutrie, from the inherited Old French forms avo… The correct English form is adultery, spelled A-D-U-L-T-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their spouse. See more synonyms at Thesaurus:cuckoldry
  2. 2
    Lewdness or unchastity of thought as well as act, as forbidden by the sixth/seventh commandment; sinful sexual behavior as a category.
  3. 3
    Faithlessness in religion.
  4. 4
    The fine and penalty formerly imposed for the offence of adultery.
  5. 5
    The intrusion of a person into a bishopric during the life of the bishop.
  6. 6
    Adulteration; corruption.
  7. 7
    Injury; degradation; ruin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how adultery appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She engaged in adultery because her spouse has a low libido, while hers is very high.
  2. So also that copulation which in one City is Matrimony, in another will be judged Adultery.

Etymology

With change of suffix, from the Old French adultere (“violation of conjugal faith”) (in Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons, 12c.), a learnèd borrowing from Latin adulterium, from adulterō. Replaced the older form avoutrie, from the inherited Old French forms avouterie or aoulterie, while keeping its suffix. Compare French adultère (“adultery”). Displaced Old English ǣwbryċe. Not related to adult.

Synonyms

advowtry

This word in other languages

adulterio(Español)adultère(Français)Ehebruch(Deutsch)adultério(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addultery
  • adlutery
  • aduletry
  • adulltery
  • adulterry
  • adulteryy
  • adulteyr
  • adultrey
  • adulttery
  • adutlery
  • audltery
  • daultery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adultery - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

addultery1adlutery2aduletry2adulltery1adulterry1adulteryy1adulteyr2adultrey2
Edit distance from "adultery"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "adultery"?
"adultery" is spelled A-D-U-L-T-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈdʌltəɹi/.
What does "adultery" mean?
As a noun, "adultery" means: Sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their spouse. See more synonyms at Thesaurus:cuckoldry
What are common misspellings of "adultery"?
Common misspellings include "addultery", "adlutery", "aduletry", "adulltery", "adulterry". The correct spelling is "adultery".
How do you pronounce "adultery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adultery" is /əˈdʌltəɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "adultery"?
With change of suffix, from the Old French adultere (“violation of conjugal faith”) (in Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons, 12c.), a learnèd borrowing from Latin adulterium, from adulterō. Replaced the older form avoutrie, from the inherited Old French... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "adultery", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

artifact#16,843battered#16,848Beatrice#16,849browning#16,856

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

collegiate12 variantscoronary12 variantsstandby12 variantscucumber12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list