Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

divorce

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of divorce

to set or force apart

  • in your head you need to divorce your wishes and fantasies from the realities of the world as it is
Synonyms of divorce

break up, decouple, disassociate, disconnect, disjoin, disjoint, dissever, dissociate, disunite, divide, part, ramify, resolve, separate, sever, split, sunder, uncouple, unlink, unyoke
Words Related to divorce

break down, decompose, disassemble, disintegrate, dissolve

bifurcate, bisect, cleave, dichotomize, dissect, fractionalize, fractionate, halve, partition, quarter, segment, subdivide, trisect

fragment, fragmentate, fragmentize

break, fracture, pull, rend, rift, rip, rive, rupture, tear

cut off, insulate, isolate, seclude, segregate, sequester

detach, disengage, disentangle, unravel, untie
Near Antonyms of divorce

assemble, associate, blend, combine, mingle, mix

connect, couple

accumulate, agglutinate, attach, bind, cement, close, fasten, fuse, knit, stick, weld
Antonyms of divorce

join, link, unify, unite

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

Learn More about divorce

  1. See words that rhyme with divorce Dictionary: Definition of divorce Spanish Central: Translation of divorce Nglish: Translation of divorce for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of divorce for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about divorce

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up divorce? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

chapel

a private place of worship

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. gaslight It is a word, though.

  2. invasion CNN reporter questions President.

  3. relevancy Ariana Grande slams ex-fiancé.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games