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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

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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

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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

“The goal should be to avoid putting the kids in a business partnership that could lead to conflict, especially if divorce is a possibility,” he wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Holmes’ then-wife, attorney Marilee Fiebig, filed for divorce shortly thereafter, followed by the divorce of Robach and her second husband, “Melrose Place” actor Andrew Shue, months later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

She divorced her husband the following year, and Paxton’s divorce is pending.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 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

“They’re my stepdaughters, or they will be as soon as the divorce goes through,” Papá said.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Yet the song was actually Mellencamp’s response to the emptiness he felt as a famous divorcé on the road playing the biggest concerts of his life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

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

And thus began my new life as a divorcé.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2013

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

From We Can't Have Everything by Rupert Hughes

There are also obvious risks if he dies prematurely, becomes ill or divorces.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Birthdays and divorces are celebrated with equal aplomb.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 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

The industry often divorces us from what got us into the business in the first place: making believe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 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

Edens, 64 years old, who had divorced his longtime wife before meeting Luo, is known for unusual investments, including subprime loans after the 2008-09 financial crisis and a private passenger railway in Florida.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

When she and Newsom divorced in 2006, they cited the strain of the bicoastal relationship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

What if your sister ran into financial trouble, divorced or declared bankruptcy?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

Hayler was married to media personality Price at the time of the allegations, before the couple's relationship broke down in 2018 and they divorced in 2021.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

“As of this evening, I have officially divorced your mother. Well, I’ve started the process, at least. My lawyer had the papers ready to file the moment she was arrested. So, cheers.”

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

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

Right now there’s a lot of talk about divorcing your parents going around.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 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

“Your husband was offered his freedom and his farm back—” My heart leapt! “—if he proved his loyalty to El Jefe by divorcing his Mirabal wife.”

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

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Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split

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