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• 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.

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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-say, -vohr-, -vawr-say, -vohr-] / dɪ vɔrˈseɪ, -voʊr-, -ˈvɔr seɪ, -ˈvoʊr- /

noun

1. a divorced man.

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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

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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

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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

Courts often consider the cash provided for down payments as a gift to the couple in divorce proceedings, splitting the home equity equally between both spouses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

It can't be a coincidence that a song she wrote after signing her divorce papers became her breakthrough hit.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

She helped me through the divorce, sat with me when my father was dying and stayed with me for a week after my surgery a few years ago.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

She listed anorexia and severe stress, such as going through a divorce, as other possible triggers.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

“She has a hard time talking about stuff, especially since her parents’ divorce.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

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

This German comedy about a divorcé who goes to extreme lengths to spend time with his daughter earned glowing reviews, despite running for a posterior-numbing two hours and 42 minutes.

From BBC ● May 22, 2016

“He would phone us at home sometimes, like on a Saturday,” Mr. Rush recalled, back when the presidential candidate was a city divorcé.

From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2016

He was neither bachelor, husband, nor widower; he was not even a divorcé.

From We Can't Have Everything by Rupert Hughes

Mr. Spencer’s four marriages and three divorces barely merit a mention, yet his emotions are center stage as he interweaves his memories around Diana’s death with other scattered recollections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

In high-net worth divorces, parties typically divide assets in the most tax-efficient way possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

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

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

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

After the Pacheco case and up until this Joe Mondragon thing, Bloom had once again comfortably immersed himself in the endless petty squabbles, divorces, and mundane litigations of the poor people of Chamisa County.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Hayler was married to Price at the time of the allegations but their relationship broke down in 2018 and they divorced in 2021.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The state of Baja California said in a statement that Ávila is legally divorced from Torres.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

He married production assistant Linda Ratner in 1988; they divorced four years later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

In 2015, she and her spouse divorced after more than 20 years of marriage and just a few months later, Caitlyn came out as transgender during an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Things hadn’t been right between us since his parents got divorced, but I was patient with him.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Mutual-fund company T. Rowe Price lists special equity awards among pay practices that it considers outdated or at risk of divorcing executives’ interests from those of shareholders in its proxy voting guidelines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Finally, the Sun splashes on the marriage breakup of Katie Price and her "conman hubby", as the paper puts it, with: "Katie: I'm divorcing you, Lee."

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Remini and her former husband, Angelo Pagán, announced back in 2024 that they were divorcing after nearly 30 years together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 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

I couldn’t help but feel as though she was divorcing us, trading in her old allegiances for a new one.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split