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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-sey, -vohr-, -vawr-sey, -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

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

Election lawyers told the newsrooms that it is unlikely Paxton could make such an argument given his ongoing public and acrimonious divorce.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

His 1967 marriage to the musician, Jean Hart, ended in divorce.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

They also welcomed a child together, Chaz Bono, who was born Chastity Sun, before their divorce in 1975.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Their fairy tale marriage shattered in 2015, when Chey divulged in a three-page letter published by a South Korean newspaper that he wanted to divorce Roh.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Here’s a new kind of damage: My dad came to Dubai just a few days later and they told us they were getting a divorce and my dad was already married again.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

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

And thus began my new life as a divorcé.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2013

He gave her rapidly a sketch of the life and antecedents of Lord Donald of Dunoon—gambler, wastrel, divorcé, et cetera, speaking quite frankly, almost as he would have spoken to a man.

From Helena by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

It's a sizeable sum to part with when divorces can be expensive.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Lawyers who navigate the system for divorces, custody disputes and family court battles say it will be complicated.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026

Many painted a picture of "destroyed" lives: divorces, losing custody of their children, prison, psychiatric hospitals, and astronomical medical bills in the hope of regaining "a normal, meaningful life."

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

“By then, both of us had been through divorces and she had two small kids—Oliver and Kate—and I had one, Boston. We hit it off and agreed, ‘Let’s have fun until we don’t.’”

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 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

“My daughter has watched me rebuild our life focused on our safety after I divorced her father four years ago,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

What happens if someone later becomes disabled, or leaves behind a spouse — or even a divorced spouse — who qualifies for survivor benefits?

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Evan Barker grew up lower-middle-class in Missouri, bouncing between her divorced mom and dad.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

A whole new genre of celebrity divorce: Slate’s Scaachi Koul considers how Bunnie Xo, an archetypical “Cool Girl,” seems to have masterminded a new strategy for getting divorced in the public eye.

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026

A few years later, my father divorced the woman and sent for my mother and me.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, is divorcing him on “biblical grounds,” accusing him of infidelity.

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

Keep in mind that divorcing solely for the purpose of qualifying for higher benefits may raise legal concerns if the divorce is not genuine.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

Sometimes, divorcing couples clash over who gets the car or the house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Under the new law, a family court can decide whether to grant sole or joint custody to divorcing couples.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026

“Your husband was offered his freedom and his farm back—” My heart leapt! “—if he proved his loyalty to El Jefe by divorcing his Mirabal wife.”

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split