marital
American-
of or relating to marriage; conjugal; matrimonial.
marital vows; marital discord.
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Archaic. of or relating to a husband.
adjective
-
of or relating to marriage
marital status
-
of or relating to a husband
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of marital
1595–1605; < Latin marītālis of married people, derivative of marītus of marriage. See marry 1, -al 1
Explanation
Use the adjective marital to describe something that relates to a marriage. You may envy the marital contentment of spouses who communicate well with each other. When you pronounce marital, put the accent on the first syllable and use the short i sound: "MAR i tul." Now you're ready to ask people, "What is your marital status?" They'll answer that they're single or married, or possibly engaged, widowed, divorced, or living as unmarried partners. Marital comes from Latin: maritalis, meaning "of or belonging to married people," and maritus, meaning "husband."
Vocabulary lists containing marital
100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Vocabulary for the Naturalization Interview
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Even Claude, Anthropic’s AI chatbot, responds to queries by saying “Dario Amodei’s marital status doesn’t seem to be clearly confirmed.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
So let me add this: You are committed to making changes in your marital status only when you have all the information you need.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
“They’re seeking Social Security information, marital status, income information,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
My advice, as a marital and family therapist with almost 20 years’ experience, is that if your therapist freely doles out advice: Find a new therapist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Perhaps, Eleanor’s sister whispered in the privacy of the marital bedroom, perhaps Dr. Montague—if that really was his name, after all—perhaps this Dr. Montague used these women for some—well—experiments.
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
