Criminal Conversation (Noun)
Meaning
Extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations; "adultery is often cited as grounds for divorce".
Classification
Nouns denoting acts or actions.
Examples
- The lawsuit accused the man of engaging in a criminal conversation with the plaintiff's wife, leading to the deterioration of their marriage.
- In the divorce proceedings, the wife's lawyer cited the husband's criminal conversation with a woman he met online as a reason for the split.
- The court found the defendant guilty of criminally conspiring to commit a criminal conversation with the plaintiff's spouse, awarding significant damages.
- The centuries-old law that made criminal conversation a crime has been largely abolished, but remnants of it remain in some jurisdictions.
- The concept of criminal conversation is often misinterpreted, as it specifically involves extramarital relations that maliciously interfere with marriage relations.