Adultery
unlawful intercourse between two married persons not standing to each other in the relation of husband and wife, or between a married person and another unmarried. In the former case, it has been called double, and in the latter, single adultery. Adultery is considered in England a ground for total divorce. In the United States there is a wide diversity in the laws relating to this offense. In some States it has been made a crime, while, in others, civil proceedings are allowed substantially similar to those of the English law.