fornication
Sex without marriage
Fornication is sexual intercourse between people who aren't married to each other.
The word carries a religious or legal tone—it appears in biblical translations and older statutes rather than casual speech.
Someone might be accused of fornication in a moralistic context: The preacher condemned fornication from the pulpit.
The related verb is fornicate.
Sexual joining of bodies
- coitusSexual joining of bodies
- sexReproductive category or act
- sexual relationsPhysical intimate contact
- carnal knowledgeSexual intercourse, legally termed
intimacy · coition · mating · coupling · bedding · consummation · act · deed
Married person's sexual betrayal
- prostitutionCommercial sexual services
- sodomyCriminalized sexual act
- solicitationSeeking to obtain
- buggeryUnnatural carnal connection
gambling · apostasy · blasphemy · lechery · licentiousness · indecency · drug use · polygamy
Married person's sexual betrayal
- cheatingDeceptive rule-breaking
- unfaithfulnessBreach of romantic commitment
- affairRomantic entanglement outside commitment
- betrayalBreaking of trust
extramarital · philandering · two-timing · straying · cuckoldry · disloyalty · tryst · mistress
Intense carnal appetite
- carnalityPursuit of bodily pleasures
- lecheryExcessive sexual indulgence
- concupiscenceIntense carnal appetite
- lasciviousnessOvert sexual impropriety
prurience · libido · arousal · temptation · passion · craving · sensuality · licentiousness
Violation of divine law
- immoralityQuality of being wicked
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
purity · decency · propriety · transgression · wickedness · iniquity · vice · debauchery
Violation of divine law
- commandmentAuthoritative rule to obey
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- damnationEternal punishment decree
hellfire · harlotry · whoredom · Leviticus · scripture · penance · absolution · condemnation
Not allowed
- illicitProhibited by law
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- unlawfulForbidden by statute
- proscribedFormally forbidden by authority
banned · outlawed · immoral · sinful · verboten · interdicted · criminalized · punishable
copulation
Sexual joining of bodies
- coitusSexual joining of bodies
- sexReproductive category or act
- sexual relationsPhysical intimate contact
carnal knowledge · intimacy · coition · mating · coupling · bedding · consummation · act · deed · flesh
adultery
Married person's sexual betrayal
- prostitutionCommercial sexual services
- sodomyCriminalized sexual act
- solicitationSeeking to obtain
buggery · gambling · apostasy · blasphemy · lechery · licentiousness · indecency · drug use · polygamy · cohabitation
adultery
Married person's sexual betrayal
- cheatingDeceptive rule-breaking
- unfaithfulnessBreach of romantic commitment
- affairRomantic entanglement outside commitment
betrayal · extramarital · philandering · two-timing · straying · cuckoldry · disloyalty · tryst · mistress · paramour
lust
Intense carnal appetite
- carnalityPursuit of bodily pleasures
- lecheryExcessive sexual indulgence
- concupiscenceIntense carnal appetite
lasciviousness · prurience · libido · arousal · temptation · passion · craving · sensuality · licentiousness · salacity
sin
Violation of divine law
- immoralityQuality of being wicked
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
abstinence · purity · decency · propriety · transgression · wickedness · iniquity · vice · debauchery · impurity
sin
Violation of divine law
- commandmentAuthoritative rule to obey
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
damnation · hellfire · harlotry · whoredom · Leviticus · scripture · penance · absolution · condemnation · preaching
forbidden
Not allowed
proscribed · banned · outlawed · immoral · sinful · verboten · interdicted · criminalized · punishable · restricted
- Islamic Lawsharia, Sharia, Shariah, Islamic law, fatwa
- intimacykiss, hug, embrace, closeness, snuggling
- sexual customssexual norms, sexual taboos, marriage customs, courtship, virginity
- sexual ethicssexual morality, sexual ethics, chastity, adultery, human sexuality
- taboostaboo, incest, cannibalism, bestiality, necrophilia
- vicevice, debauchery, prostitution, depravity, immorality
fornicationchastity
Abstaining from sexual activity
matrimony · marriage · wedlock · marital union · holy matrimony
fornicationchastity
Abstaining from sexual activity
abstinence · celibacy · sexual abstinence · chasteness · continence