divorce your spouse
/dɪˈvɔːrs jɔːr spaʊs/
Meaning
This phrase refers to the legal process of ending a marriage with one's husband or wife. It is a neutral, factual description of a major life event. While the topic is sensitive, the expression itself is standard and objective, used in legal, personal, and conversational contexts.
Examples
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It takes a lot of courage to divorce your spouse when the relationship is no longer healthy.
It takes a lot of courage to divorce your spouse when the relationship is no longer healthy.
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She had to hire a lawyer to help her divorce her spouse after ten years of marriage.
She had to hire a lawyer to help her divorce her spouse after ten years of marriage.
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Deciding to divorce your spouse is never an easy choice, especially when children are involved.
Deciding to divorce your spouse is never an easy choice, especially when children are involved.
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He realized he wanted to divorce his spouse after they lived separately for six months.
He realized he wanted to divorce his spouse after they lived separately for six months.
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You must file the correct paperwork in court to officially divorce your spouse.
You must file the correct paperwork in court to officially divorce your spouse.
Common Mistakes
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✗ She wants to divorce with her spouse.
✓ She wants to divorce her spouse.
'Divorce' is a transitive verb in this context and does not take the preposition 'with'. You 'divorce someone', you do not 'divorce with someone'.
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✗ He got divorced his spouse last year.
✓ He divorced his spouse last year.
If you use the active verb, it is 'divorced his spouse.' If you use the passive state 'got divorced,' you must use the preposition 'from' (e.g., 'got divorced from his spouse').
Related Expressions
Practice
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If you want to ___, you should consult a family lawyer first.
💡 legally end your marriage
Show answer
divorce your spouse
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It can be financially complicated to ___ if you share a lot of assets.
💡 end your marriage legally
Show answer
divorce your spouse