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Definition of divorce noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

divorce

noun
 
/dɪˈvɔːs/
 
/dɪˈvɔːrs/
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  1. [uncountable, countable] the legal ending of a marriage
    • The marriage ended in divorce in 1996.
    • an increase in the divorce rate (= the number of divorces in a year)
    • They have agreed to get a divorce.
    • Divorce proceedings (= the legal process of divorce) started today.
    • Bella wants a divorce.
    • He remarried after a divorce from his first wife, Kate.
    • She told him she was filing for divorce.
    Collocations Marriage and divorceMarriage and divorceRomance
    • fall/​be (madly/​deeply/​hopelessly) in love (with somebody)
    • be/​believe in/​fall in love at first sight
    • be/​find true love/​the love of your life
    • suffer (from) (the pains/​pangs of) unrequited love
    • have/​feel/​show/​express great/​deep/​genuine affection for somebody/​something
    • meet/​marry your husband/​wife/​partner/​fiancé/fiancée/​boyfriend/​girlfriend
    • have/​go on a (blind) date
    • be going out with/(especially North American English) dating a guy/​girl/​boy/​man/​woman
    • move in with/​live with your boyfriend/​girlfriend/​partner
    Weddings
    • get/​be engaged/​married/​divorced
    • arrange/​plan a wedding
    • have a big wedding/​a honeymoon/​a happy marriage
    • have/​enter into an arranged marriage
    • call off/​cancel/​postpone your wedding
    • invite somebody to/​go to/​attend a wedding/​a wedding ceremony/​a wedding reception
    • conduct/​perform a wedding ceremony
    • exchange rings/​wedding vows/​marriage vows
    • congratulate/​toast/​raise a glass to the happy couple
    • be/​go on honeymoon (with your wife/​husband)
    • celebrate your first (wedding) anniversary
    Separation and divorce
    • be unfaithful to/(informal) cheat on your husband/​wife/​partner/​fiancé/fiancée/​boyfriend/​girlfriend
    • have an affair (with somebody)
    • break off/​end an engagement/​a relationship
    • break up with/​split up with/ (informal) dump your boyfriend/​girlfriend/​partner
    • separate from/​be separated from/​leave/​divorce your husband/​wife/​partner
    • annul/​dissolve a marriage
    • apply for/​ask for/​go through/​get a divorce
    • get/​gain/​be awarded/​have/​lose custody of the children
    • pay alimony/​child support (to your ex-wife/​husband/​partner)
    compare separation
    Extra Examples
    • She cited adultery as grounds for divorce.
    • He hasn't signed the divorce papers yet.
    • She is waiting for the divorce to come through before she remarries.
    • He told her that he was married but getting a divorce.
    • Neither partner had considered divorce.
    • Once the divorce is finalized, I plan to move to Bermuda.
    • Over 50 000 divorces were granted last year.
    • She decided not to date for a while after a messy divorce.
    • He filed for divorce in 2019.
    • She is seeking a divorce on the grounds of cruelty.
    • They watched their parents go through an acrimonious divorce.
    • The church may disapprove but Catholics can and do obtain civil divorces.
    • The divorce rate has been growing steadily since 1971.
    • The majority of divorces are initiated by women.
    • These days divorce is rarely contested.
    • her divorce from the pop star
    • the lawyers handling their divorce
    Topics Family and relationshipsb2, Law and justiceb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • amicable
    • uncontested
    • no-fault
    verb + divorce
    • want
    • apply for
    • ask for
    divorce + verb
    • come through
    divorce + noun
    • court
    • case
    • proceedings
    preposition
    • divorce from
    • divorce on the grounds of
    phrases
    • grounds for divorce
    See full entry
  2. [countable, usually singular] divorce (between A and B) (formal) an act of separating two things; the ending of a relationship between two things
    • the divorce between religion and science
See divorce in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee divorce in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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