divorce

[dih-vawrs, -vohrs]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR divorce ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a judicial declaration dissolving a marriage in whole or in part, especially one that releases the marriage partners from all matrimonial obligations.Compare judicial separation.

any formal separation of husband and wife according to established custom.

total separation; disunion: a divorce between thought and action.

verb (used with object), di·vorced, di·vorc·ing.

to separate by divorce: The judge divorced the couple.

to break the marriage contract between oneself and (one's spouse) by divorce: She divorced her husband.

to separate; cut off: Life and art cannot be divorced.

verb (used without object), di·vorced, di·vorc·ing.

to get a divorce.

Origin of divorce

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French < Latin dīvortium separation, equivalent to dīvort(ere), variant of dīvertere to divert + -ium -ium

Related formsdi·vorce·a·ble, adjectivedi·vorc·er, noundi·vor·cive, adjectivenon·di·vorced, adjectiveun·di·vorce·a·ble, adjectiveun·di·vorced, adjective

Synonyms for divorce

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR divorce ON THESAURUS.COM

6. dissociate, divide, disconnect, split, disjoin.

divorcé

[dih-vawr-sey, -vohr-, -vawr-sey, -vohr-]

noun

a divorced man.

Origin of divorcé

1805–15; < French, noun use of masculine past participle of divorcer < Medieval Latin dīvortiāre to divorce, derivative of Latin dīvortium divorce

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for divorce

breakup, dissolution, split, separation, annulment, dissociate, disconnect, sever, separate, division, divorcement, severance, disunion, partition, break, detachment, breach, rupture, dissociation, splitsville

Examples from the Web for divorce

Contemporary Examples of divorce

Just a week after her divorce, she was invited to a wedding by her sister-in-law.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda
Ruth Michaelson
December 26, 2014
The pair began their relationship in 2007, and went public with it in 2010 after her divorce was finalized.
Hell Hath No Fury Like Valerie Trierweiler, the French President’s Ex
Lizzie Crocker
November 28, 2014
She moved out a month later, and du Pont subsequently filed for divorce.
Foxcatcher’s Real-Life Psycho Killer
Marlow Stern
November 18, 2014
Divorce ensued, along with a deluge of humiliating media coverage.
The Very Rich Should Divorce Very Quietly
Vicky Ward
November 6, 2014
Ruby also danced in a chorus of a Hollywood club for a while, as her marriage deteriorated and finally ended in divorce.
Gay Talese on Charlie Manson’s Home on the Range
Gay Talese
October 31, 2014

Historical Examples of divorce

Should you have thought she'd marry so soon after her divorce?
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The good bishop believed she had jeopardised her soul with divorce.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
I am bound, after the divorce, to marry the woman I have seduced.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
But I can't get a divorce while I'm shut up in this house and watched.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Nothing human could divorce ties which nature had so strongly woven.
The Bay State Monthly, Vol. 1, Issue 1.
Various

British Dictionary definitions for divorce

divorce

noun

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

a judicial decree declaring a marriage to be dissolved

a separation, esp one that is total or complete

verb

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

(tr) to remove or separate, esp completely

Derived Formsdivorceable, adjectivedivorcer, noundivorcive, adjective

Word Origin for divorce

C14: from Old French, from Latin dīvortium from dīvertere to separate; see divert

divorcé

noun

a man who has been divorced

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for divorce

late 14c., from Old French divorce (14c.), from Latin divortium "separation, dissolution of marriage," from divertere "to separate, leave one's husband, turn aside" (see divert). Not distinguished in English from legal separation until mid-19c.

late 14c., from Old French divorcer, from divorce (see divorce (n.)). Related: Divorced; divorcing.