Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

Linda, originally from Llanybydder in Wales, had been in the midst of divorce proceedings and had visited a bank with a court order to freeze her husband's bank accounts the week before she vanished.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

My divorce had unfolded five years prior, and Graham was a child of divorce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Experts and couples interviewed by AFP spoke of a combination of factors, including longer educations and growing professional ambitions among women, along with rising divorce rates and financial strain on young professionals.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Even more high profile has been the divorce of Rep. Max Miller from Emily Moreno, the daughter of another prominent Ohio Republican, Sen. Bernie Moreno.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

“Our divorce was amicable, but it was still hard. She was ready to move on before I was.”

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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

This German comedy about a divorcé who goes to extreme lengths to spend time with his daughter earned glowing reviews, despite running for a posterior-numbing two hours and 42 minutes.

From BBC ● May 22, 2016

“He would phone us at home sometimes, like on a Saturday,” Mr. Rush recalled, back when the presidential candidate was a city divorcé.

From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2016

First the twain fall desperately in love, and Edith, the Catholic, discovers Ben to be an innocent divorcé.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, September 26, 1917 by Various

"Working has kept me young, vigorous, energetic, knowledgeable, fun," said Cohen, who has represented celebrities in their divorces, including former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

The movie kicks off as a casual portrait of the vacant nouveau riche lifestyles of the mini-oligarchs: fancy dinners, divorces, bathroom gossip.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 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

They claim that the laws are widely abused as a blackmail tool in divorces, enrich lawyers and let spouses who misbehave off the hook, treating them as passive objects with no agency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

One of the few healthy businesses in town was the sad trade in divorces, handled quickly and easily in cold offices that had once been noisy saloons.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

He pictures an instant family with a freshly divorced woman he once had a thing with in high school.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Bezos made a very hefty profit on the sale of the 9,240-square-foot home, having purchased it for $37.5 million in 2019, the same year he divorced Scott.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Now divorced, Miller and Emily Moreno are involved in a custody battle over their 2-year-old daughter.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

The attacker had lived with his grandparents, as his parents were divorced.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Quincy’s parents are divorced, and he has a twin?

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

“Yes, Tom and I are divorcing, and it is extremely sad,” she said, beginning to cry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Bill Eddy, a longtime conflict resolution specialist, also describes relationship dynamics between siblings that can be similar to a divorcing couple trying to make it work for the kids.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

But divorcing a film like this from the times in which we’re absorbing it is short of impossible, no matter how much of an escape it provides for 109 minutes.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

I had an aunt who went as far as divorcing her husband and briefly marrying an American family friend so that she could get a green card.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split