Definition of "divorce" in English

noun

1. 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. 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. (zoology) The separation of a bonded pair of animals.

4. (obsolete) That which separates.

verb

1. (transitive) To legally dissolve a marriage between two people.

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

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

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

3. (intransitive) To obtain a legal divorce.

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

4. (transitive) To separate something that was connected.

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