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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-sey, -vohr-, -vawr-sey, -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

York had filed for divorce from his wife in May due to irreconcilable differences, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

But alliances can withstand a lot of friction—physical proximity alone probably makes a wholesale U.S.-Canada divorce impossible—and escalation isn’t guaranteed.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

So with just eight days left of the transfer window left, you cannot help but wonder if this once happy marriage is heading towards divorce.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

After her 1980 divorce from music producer Lou Adler, Fabares remarried “MASH” actor Mike Farrell in 1984.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

“Someday when you get past being thirteen years old, and you’re not so angry about the divorce, you’re going to thank me for just smiling back at you when you’re like this.”

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2019

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 Mrs. Humphry Ward

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

It was to be the first of three divorces for Turner, who was better at sailing and at business than keeping marriages together.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 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

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

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

William had advised him not to rush the relationship with the divorced American former television actress three years his senior, Harry said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Dovilė, a stoic tween, puts on a cool act about the news, mentioning a friend whose parents got divorced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Also true: Same-sex married couples and eligible divorced spouses are treated the same as opposite-sex couples by the Social Security Administration.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

The attacker had lived with his grandparents, as his parents were divorced.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

“But he broke it off. He divorced his wife anyway and married Blanche a couple of years ago.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

“Yes, Tom and I are divorcing, and it is extremely sad,” she said, beginning to cry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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

But divorcing a film like this from the times in which we’re absorbing it is short of impossible, no matter how much of an escape it provides for 109 minutes.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

Sometimes, divorcing couples clash over who gets the car or the house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

In 1980, four years after divorcing Cheetah, Deborah took her car to a mechanic named James Pullum, who also worked at a local steel mill.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split