divorce

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The legal dissolution of a marriage.

   Richard obtained a divorce from his wife some years ago, but hasn't returned to the dating scene.

2. 2
   noun

   A separation of connected things.

   The Civil War split between Virginia and West Virginia was a divorce based along cultural and economic as well as geographic lines.

3. 3
   noun

   That which separates.

   Go with me like good angels to my end; / And as the long divorce of steel falls on me, / Make of your prayers one sweet sacrifice, / And lift my soul to heaven. Lead on, o' God's name.

4. 4
   verb

   To legally dissolve a marriage between two people.

   A ship captain can marry couples, but cannot divorce them.

5. 5
   verb

   To end one's own marriage to (a person) in this way.

   Lucy divorced Steve when she discovered that he had been unfaithful.

6. 6
   verb

   To obtain a legal divorce.

   Edna and Simon divorced last year; he got the house, and she retained the business.

7. 7
   verb

   To separate something that was connected.

   The radical group voted to divorce itself from the main faction and start an independent movement.

8. 8
   noun

   the legal dissolution of a marriage

Etymology

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