marital
American-
of or relating to marriage; conjugal; matrimonial.
marital vows; marital discord.
-
Archaic. of or relating to a husband.
adjective
-
of or relating to marriage
marital status
-
of or relating to a husband
Other Word Forms
- maritally adverb
- nonmarital adjective
- nonmaritally adverb
- postmarital adjective
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.
“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
Eberle has turned her own marital history into one of her primary credentials.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
A marital or “A” trust is an irrevocable trust that gives the surviving spouse complete control over the assets.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
I spoke to the late-life lovebirds about their process of marital manuscript-making: the good, the not so good and the blackmailing.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
Yes, Mitchell says looking back, “there were problems,” but he remembers them stemming from marital strife and tension between Kathie and his dad, not any cruelty on the part of his father.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
