unmarry

A couple decides to unmarry after many years.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To dissolve a marriage: "unmarry" means to end a marital union, typically through legal divorce or annulment. It is the opposite of marrying, denoting the act of separating two spouses.
   • To separate or disentangle: In a broader sense, it can refer to the process of undoing the legal or social bond of marriage.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • After years of conflict, they decided to unmarry through a formal divorce. (They chose to legally end their marriage.)
  • The court granted the petition to unmarry the couple due to irreconcilable differences. (The court allowed the dissolution of the marriage.)
  • She wanted to unmarry him but struggled with the legal paperwork. (She sought to dissolve the marriage bond.)

Advanced Usage

• "to unmarry someone": to legally end a marriage with a specific person.

  • He filed papers to unmarry his spouse after a brief separation. (He initiated the divorce process.)

• "to be unmarried" (adj): the state of not being married, which can be the result of being unmarried, divorced, or widowed.

  • After the divorce, she remained unmarried for several years. (She did not remarry.)

Variants and Related Words

• Unmarried (adj): not married; single.

  • He is an unmarried man living alone. (He is not currently married.)

• Unmarrying (n): the act or process of dissolving a marriage.

  • The unmarrying of the royal couple was a lengthy legal affair. (The divorce process was complex.)

• Remarry (v): to marry again after a divorce or the death of a spouse (note: this is a compound word, not a direct variant of "unmarry" but related in meaning).

Synonyms

• Divorce: the legal dissolution of a marriage.

  • They filed for divorce after a decade of marriage. (They sought to officially end their marriage.)

• Annul: to declare a marriage invalid, as if it never existed.

  • The church agreed to annul the marriage due to fraud. (The marriage was declared void.)

• Separate: to live apart from one's spouse, often as a preliminary step to divorce.

  • They decided to separate before pursuing a full divorce. (They lived apart but were still legally married.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Unmarry from: to separate or divorce from a specific person.
  • She wanted to unmarry from her husband after his betrayal. (She sought a divorce from him.)

Related Idioms

• Untie the knot: a common idiom meaning to end a marriage, similar to "unmarry."

  • After years of unhappiness, they finally untied the knot. (They got divorced.)

• Go through a divorce: to undergo the legal process of ending a marriage.

  • They had to go through a divorce to officially unmarry. (They completed the legal dissolution.)