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

Election lawyers told the newsrooms that it is unlikely Paxton could make such an argument given his ongoing public and acrimonious divorce.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

They also welcomed a child together, Chaz Bono, who was born Chastity Sun, before their divorce in 1975.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

His 1967 marriage to the musician, Jean Hart, ended in divorce.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Following the publishing of Chey’s letter, Roh had told friends she would defend her household, keep the family together and resist granting a divorce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

With her soft white curls and graceful good manners, Stanton appeared harmless, but when she was at the podium she challenged her audiences with revolutionary ideas about divorce, religion, and women’s role in society.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

And there’s the leering, preening Rupert Mannion from “Ted Lasso” — multimillionaire soccer team owner, inveterate philanderer and incurably vindictive divorcé.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

The acclaimed “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” adapted by Taffy Brodesser-Akner from her bestselling 2019 novel, is ostensibly about this Manhattan divorcé and struggling single father, played by Jesse Eisenberg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2023

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

He gave her rapidly a sketch of the life and antecedents of Lord Donald of Dunoon—gambler, wastrel, divorcé, et cetera, speaking quite frankly, almost as he would have spoken to a man.

From Helena by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

It's a sizeable sum to part with when divorces can be expensive.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

But what if she divorces her second husband?

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 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

Many painted a picture of "destroyed" lives: divorces, losing custody of their children, prison, psychiatric hospitals, and astronomical medical bills in the hope of regaining "a normal, meaningful life."

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

I would like to let the record show that Ali and Shohreh probably had the most amicable divorce in the history of divorces.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

After the affair, Rippey and Tourk divorced but continued to co-parent their son, who is now an adult.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

She is now getting divorced and taking antidepressants.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

However, if we divorced after being married for more than 10 years, he would be entitled to 18% of the home’s value.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

By then, my French father, Emmanuel, a prominent art dealer, and my English mother, Honor, a painter, had divorced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

A few years passed, and Kathy, through a series of missteps and heartbreaks, was divorced and living alone with Zachary, who was less than a year old.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

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

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

Keep in mind that divorcing solely for the purpose of qualifying for higher benefits may raise legal concerns if the divorce is not genuine.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

It seems as if her parents were perpetually fighting their own marital war of attrition, eventually divorcing in the 1970s after their children had all moved out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

The pair announced their separation in 2024, with a spokesperson saying "their marriage is over and they are in the process of divorcing".

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 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