marriage
(broadly) any of the diverse forms of interpersonal union established in various parts of the world to form a familial bond that is recognized legally, religiously, or socially, granting the participating partners mutual conjugal rights and responsibilities and including, for example, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, plural marriage, and arranged marriage: Anthropologists say that some type of marriage has been found in every known human society since ancient times. : See Word Story at the current entry.
Also called opposite-sex marriage . the form of this institution under which a man and a woman have established their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.: See also traditional marriage (def. 2).
this institution expanded to include two partners of the same gender, as in same-sex marriage; gay marriage.
the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock: They have a happy marriage.
the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of two people to live as a married couple, including the accompanying social festivities: to officiate at a marriage.
a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction: trial marriage.
any close or intimate association or union: the marriage of words and music in a hit song.
a formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger.
a blending or matching of different elements or components:The new lipstick is a beautiful marriage of fragrance and texture.
Cards. a meld of the king and queen of a suit, as in pinochle.: Compare royal marriage.
a piece of antique furniture assembled from components of two or more authentic pieces.
Obsolete. the formal declaration or contract by which act a man and a woman join in wedlock.
Origin of marriage
1synonym study For marriage
word story For marriage
Multiple wives, for example, proliferate in the Bible. King Solomon famously had 700, although most were apparently instruments of political alliance rather than participants in royal romance. (For that, he had 300 concubines.)
Marriage can be sanctioned legally or religiously, and typically confers upon married people a special legal status with particular rights, benefits, and obligations. Access to this special status has changed over time. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage as recently as 1967, while same-sex marriage, which for some time had been banned in many states or ignored in others, was in 2015 ruled a constitutional right for all Americans.
Marriage as the union of one man and one woman is the most common definition of the term in the Western world today—this in spite of the prevalence on the one hand of divorce (enabling people to marry several different partners in sequence), and on the other, of an increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage. And as society becomes more inclusive, it is likely that “equal protection under the law” will be fully applied to same-sex couples.
In crafting definitions for a word that represents an institution that is rapidly evolving, the dictionary may well have to keep adding, changing, and reordering senses, splitting or combining them as the institution changes. Inevitably, those who want to preserve what they cherish as traditional values will resist new definitions, while those who anticipate, welcome, and fight for societal change will be impatient when new definitions do not appear as quickly as they would wish. But we should all remember that while it is not the job of a dictionary to drive social change, it is inevitable that it will reflect such change.
Other words for marriage
3 | matrimony |
4 | nuptials, marriage ceremony, wedding |
6 | blend, merger, unity, oneness; alliance, confederation |
Opposites for marriage
3 | single life, bachelorhood, spinsterhood, singleness |
4 | divorce, annulment |
6 | separation, division, disunion, schism |
Other words from marriage
- non·mar·riage, noun
- post·mar·riage, noun, adjective
- pre·mar·riage, noun
- pro·mar·riage, adjective
- re·mar·riage, noun
Words that may be confused with marriage
- marriage , wedding (see synonym study at the current entry)
Words Nearby marriage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use marriage in a sentence
The problem turned around when we started going to a marriage counselor.
What if Your Company Had No Rules? (Bonus Episode) | Maria Konnikova | September 12, 2020 | FreakonomicsThat and other disorders are carried by a high proportion of people in parts of the world where marriage between cousins is common.
Strict new guidelines lay out a path to heritable human gene editing | Tina Hesman Saey | September 3, 2020 | Science NewsWe hope you enjoy using this espresso machine leading up to your big day and throughout your marriage.
A guide to giving gifts for postponed and shrunken weddings | Brooke Henderson | August 20, 2020 | FortuneBut, generally, education is associated with later marriage.
How Rising Education for Women Is Shaping the Global Population - Facts So Romantic | Kiki Sanford | August 19, 2020 | NautilusThe Supreme Court has described marriage as a fundamental right 14 times since 1888.
Harris as VP pick brings diversity, LGBTQ ally to Biden ticket | Chris Johnson | August 11, 2020 | Washington Blade
Meanwhile, in Florida, Bush was flooded with questions about whether gay marriage could possibly come to the Sunshine State.
So, Islamized teaching sends girls back home for marriage and housework, and remains exclusively for boys.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President | Pierre Assouline | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTTo those who agreed with him, Bush pledged that the law against same-sex marriage would remain intact.
Bush busy engaging constituents on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate ahead of the 2004 presidential election.
Gay marriage was the hot-button fight on the left and right.
Do you want the marriage of your daughter with the rich and Honourable Harry broken?
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeAfter her marriage to Eugène Manet she came under the influence of his famous brother, Édouard.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine ClementIt had come into the family through the marriage of a former earl with the heiress of the great Chudleigh family.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsSeven o'clock was the hour fixed for the marriage: it would be twilight then, and dinner over.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodThe mode of procession was a little out of the common order of such affairs; but so was the marriage.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
British Dictionary definitions for marriage
/ (ˈmærɪdʒ) /
the state or relationship of living together in a legal partnership
the legal union or contract made by two people to live together
(as modifier): marriage licence; marriage certificate
the religious or legal ceremony formalizing this union; wedding
a close or intimate union, relationship, etc: a marriage of ideas
(in certain card games, such as bezique, pinochle) the king and queen of the same suit
Origin of marriage
1Other words from marriage
- Related adjectives: conjugal, marital, nuptial
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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