divorce

B2 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /dɪˈvoɹs/ UK /dɪˈvɔːs/ See IPA manual

Freq #1825

Meanings

1

noun
The legal ending of a marriage.

After years of unhappiness, they finally decided to get a divorce.
2

verb
To legally end your marriage to someone.

She divorced her husband after she discovered he had lied to her.
3

verb
To separate two things that are normally connected.

You cannot divorce these ideas from their historical context.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the legal ending of a... divorcement

3 verb · to separate two things that... separate dissociate

Opposites

marriage marry

Word family

Forms divorcesdivorcing

Derived forms antidivorcedivorceabledivorceedivorcelessdivorcerdivorcibledivorcivedivortialitydudevorcenondivorcenondivorcingpostdivorce

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

divorce court
a court that handles the legal ending of marriages

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Divorce entered English in the late Middle Ages from Latin divortium, based on divertere, “to turn in separate ways.” Its early legal use covered several ways of ending or suspending a marriage, including abandonment, annulment, and formal separation.

Etymology

Derived from Old French divorce, from Latin dīvortium, from dīvertere (“to turn aside”), from dī- (“apart”) + vertere (“to turn”); see verse.

*wert- Proto-Indo-European divorce Old French dīvortium Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships Register & Style

External links

# divorce

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈvoɹs/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈvɔːs/
**Frequency rank:** 1825

## Meanings
1. The legal ending of a marriage.
2. To legally end your marriage to someone.
3. To separate two things that are normally connected.

## Examples
- After years of unhappiness, they finally decided to get a divorce.
- She divorced her husband after she discovered he had lied to her.
- You cannot divorce these ideas from their historical context.

## Antonyms
- marriage
- marry

## Derived Forms
- antidivorce
- divorceable
- divorcee
- divorceless
- divorcer
- divorcible
- divorcive
- divortiality
- dudevorce
- nondivorce
- nondivorcing
- postdivorce

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *wert-
- Root: divorce
- Root: dīvortium

## Etymology
Derived from Old French divorce, from Latin dīvortium, from dīvertere (“to turn aside”), from dī- (“apart”) + vertere (“to turn”); see verse.

## AI Etymology
Divorce is derived from Old French divorce, from Latin dīvortium, from dīvertere (“to turn aside”), from dī- (“apart”) + vertere (“to turn”); see verse. In current use, the main senses are “The legal ending of a marriage” and “To legally end your marriage to someone”. Its deeper ancestry includes Proto-Indo-European *wert-.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships
- Register & Style

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