noun

fornication

fawr-nih-KAY-shuhn

noun

Sexual intercourse between people who are not married to each other.

"The church taught that fornication was a serious sin."

How to Use Fornication

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA formal, often religious or legal, term for sex outside of marriage.

When to use it

Rarely used casually — it carries a moral or legal tone.

fornications plural

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From Old French fornicacion, from Latin fornicatio, from fornix, "brothel."

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