adulterers
Cheating married people
Adulterers are people who commit adultery—who have sex with someone other than their spouse while married.
The term carries moral weight, suggesting not just infidelity but violation of vows: The preacher thundered against adulterers and fornicators.
Both men and women may be called adulterers, though adulteress exists as a feminine form.
Moral law violators
- unfaithfulBetraying a partner's trust
- cheatersNonprescription reading glasses
- fornicatorsThose having unmarried intercourse
- transgressorsThose who break rules
wrongdoers · betrayers · deceivers · immoral · wicked · fallen · condemned · guilty
Romantic entanglement outside commitment
- infidelityDisloyalty to a partner
- betrayalBreaking of trust
- mistressIllicit female lover
- loverRomantic intimate
paramour · cuckold · spouse · marriage · divorce · heartbreak · deception · secrecy
Violation of divine law
- commandmentAuthoritative rule to obey
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
atonement · damnation · judgment · scripture · Pharisees · stoning · Hester Prynne · penance
- tragedyDisastrous or sorrowful event
- passionIntense emotional drive
- forbidden loveRomance society prohibits
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
Anna Karenina · Hester Prynne · Guinevere · Lancelot · downfall · melodrama · intrigue · liaison
sinners
Moral law violators
- unfaithfulBetraying a partner's trust
- cheatersNonprescription reading glasses
- fornicatorsThose having unmarried intercourse
transgressors · wrongdoers · betrayers · deceivers · immoral · wicked · fallen · condemned · guilty · shameful
affair
Romantic entanglement outside commitment
- infidelityDisloyalty to a partner
- betrayalBreaking of trust
- mistressIllicit female lover
lover · paramour · cuckold · spouse · marriage · divorce · heartbreak · deception · secrecy · trust
sin
Violation of divine law
- commandmentAuthoritative rule to obey
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
forgiveness · atonement · damnation · judgment · scripture · Pharisees · stoning · Hester Prynne · penance · excommunication
Madame Bovary
- tragedyDisastrous or sorrowful event
- passionIntense emotional drive
- forbidden loveRomance society prohibits
Anna Karenina · Hester Prynne · Guinevere · Lancelot · scandal · downfall · melodrama · intrigue · liaison · tryst
adultererscelibates
Those avoiding sexual activity
virgins · abstainers · monastics · ascetics