Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Conceived in adultery: Refers to a child born as a result of an adulterous relationship.
   • Illegitimate or spurious: Describes something that is not genuine, legally invalid, or improperly created.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The historical records mentioned an adulterine child who could not inherit the title.
  • The court declared the will adulterine due to evidence of forgery.

Advanced Usage

• Legal/Historical Context: Often used in historical or legal texts to describe offspring or items of questionable legitimacy.
  • The king's adulterine son was barred from the line of succession.
• Figurative Use: Can describe something counterfeit or not properly authorized.
  • The scholar argued that the document was an adulterine version of the original treaty.

Variants and Related Words

• Adulterous (adj): Characterized by or involved in adultery.
  • He was accused of adulterous behavior.
• Adultery (n): Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not their spouse.
  • Adultery was considered a grave offense.

Synonyms

• Illegitimate: Not authorized by law; born to parents not legally married.
• Spurious: Not being what it purports to be; false or fake.
• Bastard (archaic, now often offensive): An old term for a child born out of wedlock.

Antonyms

• Legitimate: Conforming to the law or rules; born of parents legally married.
• Genuine: Truly what something is said to be; authentic.

Notes on Usage

• The term adulterine is formal and now somewhat archaic. In modern legal and everyday contexts, terms like illegitimate or born out of wedlock are more commonly used to describe a child's status.
• When describing counterfeit items, words like forged, fake, or spurious are more frequent in contemporary English.

Adjective

1. conceived in adultery