First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1divorce
noun di·vorce \də-ˈvȯrs also dī-\
: the ending of a marriage by a legal process
: a complete separation between two things
Full Definition of DIVORCE
1
: the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage
2
: separation, severance <divorce of the secular and the spiritual>
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Origin of DIVORCE
Middle English divorse, from Anglo-French, from Latin divortium, from divertere, divortere to divert, to leave one's husband
Other Legal Terms
2divorce
verb
: to legally end your marriage with (your husband or wife)
: to make or keep (something) separate
di·vorceddi·vorc·ing
Full Definition of DIVORCE
transitive verb
1
a : to end marriage with (one's spouse) by divorce <she divorced her husband> b : to dissolve the marriage contract between <they were divorced last year>
2
: to make or keep separate : separate <divorce church from state>
intransitive verb
: to obtain a divorce
— di·vorce·ment \-ˈvȯr-smənt\ noun
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First Known Use of DIVORCE
15th century
Related to DIVORCE
Synonym Discussion of DIVORCE
separate, part, divide, sever, sunder, divorce mean to become or cause to become disunited or disjointed. separate may imply any of several causes such as dispersion, removal of one from others, or presence of an intervening thing <separated her personal life from her career>. part implies the separating of things or persons in close union or association <vowed never to part>. divide implies separating into pieces or sections by cutting or breaking <civil war divided the nation>. sever implies violence especially in the removal of a part or member <a severed limb>. sunder suggests violent rending or wrenching apart <a city sundered by racial conflict>. divorce implies separating two things that commonly interact and belong together <cannot divorce scientific research from moral responsibility>.
Rhymes with DIVORCE
clotheshorse, concourse, crash course, dark horse, dawn horse, dead horse, deforce, discourse, dray horse, endorse, enforce, extrorse, golf course, gut course, high horse, introrse, iron horse, midcourse, of course, Old Norse, one-horse, packhorse, perforce, post-horse, racecourse, racehorse, recourse, redhorse, remorse, resource, retrorse, sawhorse, sea horse, stringcourse, trial horse, unhorse, warhorse, wheelhorse, Whitehorse, workhorse
divorcé
noun di·vor·cé \də-ˌvȯr-ˈsā, -ˈsē, -ˈvȯr-ˌ\
: a man who is divorced
Full Definition of DIVORCÉ
: a divorced man
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First Known Use of DIVORCÉ
1877
Rhymes with DIVORCÉ
Adige, A-OK, alleyway, All Fools' Day, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, all the way, anyway, appliqué, Arbor Day, arrivé, atelier, attaché, back away, ballonet, bang away, Bastille Day, Beaujolais, beta ray, beurre manié, BHA, blow away, botonée, Boxing Day, breakaway, break away, Bristol Bay, bustier, by the way, cabaret, cableway, Camagüey, canapé, cap-a-pie, Cape Cod Bay, caraway, carriageway, cassoulet, castaway, cathode ray, champlevé, chansonnier, chardonnay, Charolais, chevalier, china clay, cloisonné, cog railway, colorway, Condorcet, consommé, coryphée, cosmic ray, croupier, crudités, cutaway, day-to-day, debauchee, déclassé, dégagé, degree-day, delta ray, démodé, devotee, disarray, disobey, distingué, divorcée, DNA, dollar day, double play, draw away, dress-down day, eagle ray, eightfold way, émigré, engagé, entranceway, entremets, entryway, espalier, everyday, exposé, expressway, fadeaway, fallaway, fall away, faraday, Faraday, faraway, fiancé, fiancée, fill away, fire away, flageolet, flyaway, foldaway, gal Friday, gamma ray, garde-manger, Georgian Bay, getaway, girl Friday, giveaway, give away, gratiné, gratinée, Greenaway, Groundhog Day, guillemet, Harare, hell to pay, Hemingway, hereaway, hideaway, hit the hay, HLA, holiday, holy day, Hornaday, Hudson Bay, Hugh Capet, Humboldt Bay, in a way, inter se, interplay, intraday, IPA, IRA, Ise Bay, judgment day, keep-away, kyrie, Labor Day, lackaday, latter-day, layaway, lay away, lingerie, macramé, Mandalay, manta ray, Massenet, matinee, medal play, meet halfway, MIA, Milky Way, Monterrey, Mother's Day, motorway, muscadet, mystery play, negligee, New Year's Day, New York Bay, Nicolet, night and day, Nottaway, off Broadway, Ojibwa, on the way, out of play, overlay, overplay, overstay, overweigh, Paraguay, passageway, pass away, passion play, pepper spray, Petare, photoplay, pikake, pis aller, play-by-play, plug-and-play, popinjay, potter's clay, pourparler, pousse-café, power play, present-day, protégé, protégée, pull away, put away, Put-in-Bay, Rabelais, rack railway, rainy-day, rambouillet, ratiné, recamier, recherché, reconvey, repartee, repoussé, résumé, retroussé, ricochet, right away, right-of-way, rockaway, roentgen ray, rondelet, roundelay, RNA, runaway, run away, Saguenay, salt away, San Jose, Santa Fe, São Tomé, Saturday, satyr play, semplice, Seventh-Day, severance pay, shadow play, sleepaway, sobriquet, sock away, sommelier, square away, steerageway, standaway, stowaway, straightaway, street railway, Table Bay, taboret, tarsier, taxiway, tearaway, tear away, teleplay, Tenebrae, thataway, throwaway, throw away, Thunder Bay, triple play, turn away, Udine, underlay, underpay, underplay, underway, Uruguay, velouté, Venite, vérité, vertebra, virelay, walkaway, Wang Ching-wei, waterway, wellaway, Whitsunday, workaday, working day, Yenisey, Zuider Zee
DIVORCED Defined for Kids
1divorce
noun di·vorce \də-ˈvȯrs\
Definition of DIVORCE for Kids
: a legal ending of a marriage
2divorce
verb
di·vorceddi·vorc·ing
Definition of DIVORCE for Kids
: to end a marriage legally : get a divorce
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