Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

At the time, she was raising seven children -- she later had more -- while going through a divorce.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

A few years ago, Georgia Chappels found herself in a 'financial crisis' after going through a divorce.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

When I asked him about the money after the divorce, he denied that it had ever existed, despite the text message confirming that it had been set aside for the girls.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

For others going through a difficult time — divorce, death, unexpected medical bills, a house with a dodgy foundation — studies show that chronic stress can alter your brain chemistry and lead to poor decision-making.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 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

And there’s the leering, preening Rupert Mannion from “Ted Lasso” — multimillionaire soccer team owner, inveterate philanderer and incurably vindictive divorcé.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

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

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

From We Can't Have Everything by Rupert Hughes

Ms. Carvajal and Ms. Ostler, both journalists, track the marriages, divorces, Catholic conversions, births and deaths of various family members against the backdrop of a vanishing way of life and impending disaster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Robach and Holmes both finalized their divorces in 2023.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Spencer’s motivations for writing the book quickly came under scrutiny, with parts of the British media suggesting Spencer may want to cash in after three divorces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

And yet this is a place, he gathers, that people come to seek divorces, dispute wills.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

They share two children — daughter Sunshine and son Harmony — and divorced in 1977.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

She is divorced and has three children who live outside Venezuela due to threats to their safety.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

In 1942 Léon and Beatrice, who had divorced earlier that year, and their two children were sent to Drancy, the Nazi deportation camp outside Paris.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

One result has been that the average S&P 500 stock is growing increasingly divorced from both the performance of these perceived AI beneficiaries.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

After Mollie divorced Ernest, she lived with her new husband, John Cobb, on the reservation.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

May 2021: Bill and Melinda French Gates announce they are divorcing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Bill Eddy, a longtime conflict resolution specialist, also describes relationship dynamics between siblings that can be similar to a divorcing couple trying to make it work for the kids.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

I mean, she was in high school going through the things high school girls go through, playing tennis and learning piano, and when Tateh was divorcing Mameh she got lost in all that.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split

---