marital
American-
of or relating to marriage; conjugal; matrimonial.
marital vows; marital discord.
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Archaic. of or relating to a husband.
adjective
-
of or relating to marriage
marital status
-
of or relating to a husband
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of marital
1595–1605; < Latin marītālis of married people, derivative of marītus of marriage. See marry 1, -al 1
Explanation
Use the adjective marital to describe something that relates to a marriage. You may envy the marital contentment of spouses who communicate well with each other. When you pronounce marital, put the accent on the first syllable and use the short i sound: "MAR i tul." Now you're ready to ask people, "What is your marital status?" They'll answer that they're single or married, or possibly engaged, widowed, divorced, or living as unmarried partners. Marital comes from Latin: maritalis, meaning "of or belonging to married people," and maritus, meaning "husband."
Vocabulary lists containing marital
100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Vocabulary for the Naturalization Interview
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With the high bar it set for entry into its elite training system, and its sclerotic marital customs limiting birthrates, its population of homoioi decreased while neighboring states were growing.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
When I began to confide in married girlfriends about our problems, they unfailingly shared their own marital struggles, things they’d never mentioned when I was single.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
Gomez and Blanco splashed out on an enormous $35 million marital abode in Beverly Hills in December 2024—the very same week they got engaged.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
“If tax benefits, if health insurance, if parental rights were not all based upon marital status, we wouldn’t have the issues that we do,” said Chazan, the Glendale lawyer.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026
Chicago was a break in my journey, a resumption of my name, identity, and happy marital status.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
