noun
divorce
dih-VAWS
noun
1
The legal ending of a marriage.
"Their divorce was finalised after months of negotiation."
verb
1
To legally end one's marriage.
"She divorced her husband after fifteen years together."
2
To separate two things that were previously connected.
"It's hard to divorce the artist's work from his personal life."
How to Use Divorce
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEnding a marriage legally, or more broadly, separating two things that used to go together.
Common pairings
file for divorce
get a divorce
divorce proceedings
Word Forms
divorced past tense, divorces plural, divorces singular
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Etymology
From Old French divorce, from Latin dīvortium, from dīvertere, "to turn aside" — related to divert and verse.