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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-say, -vohr-, -vawr-say, -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

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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

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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

His marriage to Wendy Neuss, who had been a “Next Generation” producer, in 2000, also ended in divorce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

A few years ago, Georgia Chappels found herself in a 'financial crisis' after going through a divorce.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

At the time, she was raising seven children -- she later had more -- while going through a divorce.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

I retired in 2020 and subsequently went through a divorce a few years later.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

The coincidence of a marriage and then a divorce both occurring in cities named Moscow was ironic enough to make headlines in local newspapers.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Yet the song was actually Mellencamp’s response to the emptiness he felt as a famous divorcé on the road playing the biggest concerts of his life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

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

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 Mrs. Humphry Ward

Spencer’s motivations for writing the book quickly came under scrutiny, with parts of the British media suggesting Spencer may want to cash in after three divorces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Birthdays and divorces are celebrated with equal aplomb.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

I’ve also heard from various people telling me their whole financial picture, down to the pennies in their accounts, and the ins and outs of their divorces, estate fights and bad relationships with financial professionals.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

I think a lot of us feel like we grew up with Hilary, so all of her music resonated with us then, and now, now that we’re older, through relationships or divorces or motherhood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

There had been several divorces among them, including Yolanda's.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

The couple had two children before they divorced in 1990.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Her father and mother had divorced, but Juan Fernandez’s legend had been fixed — a brawling union leader and New Mexico state legislator.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

She is divorced and has three children who live outside Venezuela due to threats to their safety.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

One result has been that the average S&P 500 stock is growing increasingly divorced from both the performance of these perceived AI beneficiaries.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

“But he broke it off. He divorced his wife anyway and married Blanche a couple of years ago.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

The couple were married at the time of the alleged offences before separating in 2018 and divorcing in 2021.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Tom Segura is finally addressing the news that he and Christina Pazsitzky are divorcing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 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

The story I co-wrote with Dalvin was about the unexpected possessions that divorcing couples clash over.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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

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Related Words

• annulment
• breakup
• dissolution
• separation
• split

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