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Glite Dictionary
husband-wife privilege

husband-wife privilege

9.1
A right that stops a spouse from being forced to tell private conversations with their spouse during marriage in court
  • noun
  • /ˈhʌzbənd waɪf ˈprɪvɪlɪdʒ/
  • Formal
translation icon : privilegio conyugal
  • The court ruled that the husband-wife privilege prevented her from testifying about their private conversation.

Examples

  • Lawyers often rely on husband-wife privilege to protect sensitive marital communications in court.

  • Due to husband-wife privilege, she couldn't be forced to reveal details of their private conversations during the trial.

  • Because of husband-wife privilege, confidential discussions between spouses are safeguarded from legal disclosure.

  • The concept of husband-wife privilege is important in family law.

  • Many states recognize husband-wife privilege to protect marital communications.

  • The attorney emphasized that husband-wife privilege ensures that personal discussions between the couple remain confidential.

  • He could not disclose the contents of their discussions, as they were protected by husband-wife privilege.

Synonyms

privilege
vshusband-wife privilege
  • Specialized
130 7.9

A legal right to keep certain information secret

is the specific rule that applies only to confidential spouse communications
marital communications privilege
vshusband-wife privilege
  • Formal
9.9

A legal rule that stops a husband or wife from talking about private conversations during their marriage

is the alternative formal name for the same legal right

Surface Forms

husband-wife privilege singular
husband-wife privileges plural

Morphology

husband-wife + privilege

The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'husband-wife' specifies the parties and 'privilege' denotes a special right, so a learner who knows 'husband', 'wife' and 'privilege' can infer it is a legal right relating to spouses (e.g., non-disclosure of communications). It is a technical legal term but its meaning follows directly from the constituents and similar spousal-privilege concepts exist in many languages, so it should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the component words.

Etymology

Husband-wife privilege comes from an old idea that a husband and wife are one unit, so things they say to each other should stay inside the marriage. That's why today it means a spouse usually cannot be forced to 'reveal private talks' in court.