conjugal

adjective

con·​ju·​gal ˈkän-ji-gəl How to pronounce conjugal (audio)
 also  kən-ˈjü-
: of or relating to the married state or to married persons and their relations : connubial
conjugal happiness
conjugality noun
conjugally
ˈkän-ji-gə-lē How to pronounce conjugal (audio)
 also  kən-ˈjü-
adverb

Examples of conjugal in a Sentence

newlyweds still in a rapturous state of conjugal happiness
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The figures include Abigail Abbot Bailey, an eighteenth-century New Englander whose efforts to leave her abusive husband, Asa, were hindered not just by strictures against divorce but also by the prevailing attitudes toward conjugal desire. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024 The female-nude painting hanging over her conjugal bed satirizes a freaky tendency that rocks her marital arrangement — an unsettling tour de force from Breillat. Armond White, National Review, 26 June 2024 Francis has even gone so far as to denounce as Pharisees those who affirm the authority of the church teaching that communion for the divorced or remarried who engage in the conjugal act is never permissible. R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018 Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh’s conjugal coat of arms has been spied online shortly after a royal crest on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new website caused a commotion. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for conjugal 

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin conjugalis, from conjug-, conjux husband, wife, from conjungere to join, unite in marriage

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of conjugal was in 1545

Dictionary Entries Near conjugal

Cite this Entry

“Conjugal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conjugal. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

conjugal

adjective
con·​ju·​gal ˈkän-ji-gəl How to pronounce conjugal (audio)
kən-ˈjü-
: of or relating to marriage
conjugally adverb

Medical Definition

conjugal

adjective
con·​ju·​gal ˈkän-ji-gəl, kən-ˈjü- How to pronounce conjugal (audio)
: of or relating to the married state or to married persons and their relations
conjugal happiness
conjugally adverb

Legal Definition

conjugal

adjective
con·​ju·​gal ˈkän-jə-gəl How to pronounce conjugal (audio)
: of or relating to marriage or to married persons and their relationships

More from Merriam-Webster on conjugal

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!