Jump To:

• divorce
  divorce

  noun

  the act of legally ending a marriage.
• divorcé
  divorcé

  noun

  a divorced man.

divorce

¹ American  

[dih-vawrs] / dɪˈvɔrs /

noun

• divorces
  plural

1. the act of legally ending a marriage.

   After the divorce, they shared custody of the children.

2. any formal separation of spouses according to established custom.

3. the act of legally ending a formal contract before its term is up, especially in professional sports.

   If there’s a personality clash between the player and the manager, divorce may be the only way out.

   It’s a guide to corporate divorce, laying out who pays what to whom at the early termination of a contract.

4. a total separation between two things; disunion.

   Activists denounced the divorce between thought and action when it came to protecting human rights.

---

verb (used with object)

divorced, divorcing

1. to legally end the marriage contract between oneself and (one's spouse).

   She divorced her husband.

2. to permanently separate (a couple) through a judicial declaration that ends their marriage contract.

   The judge divorced the couple.

3. to separate or cut off.

   His view of the situation has become totally divorced from reality.

   Synonyms:

   disjoin, detach, sever, disconnect, divide, dissociate, rupture, disjunction, dissolution, breakup, annulment

verb (used without object)

divorced, divorcing

1. to legally end one’s marriage.

   After 16 years together, they divorced.

   I never thought about money till I divorced.

divorcé ² American  

[dih-vawr-sey, -vohr-, -vawr-sey, -vohr-] / dɪ vɔrˈseɪ, -voʊr-, -ˈvɔr seɪ, -ˈvoʊr- /

noun

1. a divorced man.

---

divorce ¹ British  

/ dɪˈvɔːs /

noun

1. the dissolution of a marriage by judgment of a court or by accepted custom

2. a judicial decree declaring a marriage to be dissolved

3. a separation, esp one that is total or complete

---

verb

1. to separate or be separated by divorce; give or obtain a divorce (to a couple or from one's spouse)

2. (tr) to remove or separate, esp completely

divorcé ² British  

/ dɪˈvɔːseɪ /

noun

1. a man who has been divorced

---

Gender

See fiancée.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• divorcer
  noun
• divorceable
  adjective
• divorcive
  adjective
• nondivorced
  adjective
• undivorceable
  adjective
• undivorced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• divorces
  plural

Etymology

Origin of divorce¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin dīvortium “separation,” from dīvort(ere) variant of dīvertere “to turn away” ( see divert) + -ium -ium

Origin of divorcé²

First recorded in 1805–15; from French, noun use of masculine past participle of divorcer, from Medieval Latin dīvortiāre “to divorce,” derivative of Latin dīvortium “separation”; see divorce

Explanation

A divorce is a formal ending of a marriage. It’s more permanent than a separation and involves a legal process. If you get a divorce, that means the marriage is officially over. Divorce has both a noun and a verb form. The noun describes the thing you get — "you are getting a divorce." And the verb describes the thing you do — "you are divorcing your spouse." Divorce can also be used more broadly to describe any major separation. You might know of a politician who divorces himself from a controversial issue — that means he doesn’t want to be associated with it at all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

divorce divorcé divorces divorced divorcing

Beck’s divorce from actress Marissa Ribisi was finalized in 2021, and he has suggested in interviews that some of these songs arose from processing the split.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

After a divorce: Divorce is the most obvious trigger — but as Kleinfeldt’s case shows, wanting to update your beneficiary designations isn’t enough.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Seoul Family Court granted the divorce and ordered Kwon to transfer a "35-percent stake in Smilegate, worth about 2.5 trillion won, and pay 65 billion won in cash", the court said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

It led to divorce and birthed the series, which aimed to give a glimpse of Utah’s Mormon mom influencers navigating the hyper-conservative religious expectations they live by or grew up in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

“They’re my stepdaughters, or they will be as soon as the divorce goes through,” Papá said.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Yet the song was actually Mellencamp’s response to the emptiness he felt as a famous divorcé on the road playing the biggest concerts of his life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The 66-year-old divorcé had just started seeing someone.

From Washington Post ● May 1, 2023

“It’s a slice of life. He’s a divorcé and a father, and he’s struggling to understand his daughter.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2021

Described in court as an "adoring father", the divorcé had came out as gay relatively late in life.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2019

First the twain fall desperately in love, and Edith, the Catholic, discovers Ben to be an innocent divorcé.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, September 26, 1917 by Various

I’ve also heard from various people telling me their whole financial picture, down to the pennies in their accounts, and the ins and outs of their divorces, estate fights and bad relationships with financial professionals.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

"Working has kept me young, vigorous, energetic, knowledgeable, fun," said Cohen, who has represented celebrities in their divorces, including former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

The movie kicks off as a casual portrait of the vacant nouveau riche lifestyles of the mini-oligarchs: fancy dinners, divorces, bathroom gossip.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

While divorces are often expensive, acrimonious and painful for the rest of the family, I came to see that they sometimes are the most necessary step a person can take for their own well-being.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

There had been several divorces among them, including Yolanda's.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

For decades, single, divorced and many widowed drivers have paid more for auto insurance in California than those who are married.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

He could, in fact, claim on his late spouse’s Social Security even if they were divorced, as long as they had been married for 10 years and he had not married again before age 60.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

He married Hollywood singer and actress Lulu Porter in 1960, but they divorced three years later.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Stewart was also divorced by the time her empire was at its peak — and people also criticized her, for different reasons.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

She hates the cellar because it almost made her parents get divorced.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Tom Segura is finally addressing the news that he and Christina Pazsitzky are divorcing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, is divorcing him on “biblical grounds,” accusing him of infidelity.

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

According to the law offices of Christopher Le, divorcing for the sole purpose of obtaining benefits may be viewed as an attempt to manipulate the system.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

It can cause a marriage to end, unleash a desire for revenge and influence how the divorcing couple’s children think about money as adults.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Sadie’s parents were divorcing and the town was awash in rumors about her father.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split