divorce

¹

[dih-vawrs]

noun

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

[dih-vawr-sey, -vohr-, -vawr-sey, -vohr-]

noun

1. a divorced man.

divorce

¹

/ 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

/ dɪˈvɔːseɪ /

noun

1. a man who has been divorced

Gender Note

See fiancée.

Other Word Forms

• divorceable adjective
• divorcer noun
• divorcive adjective
• nondivorced adjective
• undivorceable adjective
• undivorced adjective

Word History and Origins

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” ( divert ) + -ium -ium

Origin of divorce²

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”; divorce

Word History and Origins

Origin of divorce¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin dīvortium from dīvertere to separate; see _divert

Example Sentences

However, there is no way to consider any movie sequel to be completely divorced from previous chapters’ racial optics.

From Salon

Mary eventually remarried toward the end of the series, to race car driver Henry Talbot, but “The Grand Finale” sees the couple divorced and Mary on the outs from society.

From Los Angeles Times

Mary, meanwhile, is in the midst of a public divorce scandal that threatens to derail her reputation.

From Los Angeles Times

During their divorce, the couple each decide to transfer some of their share in the family home to the trust set up for their son.

From BBC

Some of her interest in the home had already been sold following her divorce to a court-instructed trust previously set up to help fund the care for her son, who has lifelong disabilities, she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• annulment 
• breakup 
• dissolution 
• separation 
• split