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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

Instead of treating her divorce as a failure, she gathered her close friends to mark the end of her former life and the beginning of her next chapter.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

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

After our divorce, he forced the sale of our family home in Florida, which I had paid for during our marriage.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

They explained their predicament to the man and his son, who agreed to serve as witnesses to their divorce.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

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

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

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2019

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

From We Can't Have Everything by Rupert Hughes

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

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

Both stars finalised divorces from their former partners during their time together.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 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

She divorced Thomas Markle Sr. in 1975, before he married the Duchess' mother.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The couple had two children before they divorced in 1990.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Their father and I are divorced, and the divorce was far from amicable.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

“Well, I live with my father and Arfy, my dog. My folks got divorced, and my mom doesn’t live with us anymore. It’s lonesome without her,” confessed Brad.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary

Holmes and Robach disputed this claim in 2023, noting in their podcast they were both in the process of divorcing their exes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

The couple were married at the time of the alleged offences before separating in 2018 and divorcing in 2021.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

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

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

Sadie’s parents were divorcing and the town was awash in rumors about her father.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split

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