divorce definition | Open Education Sociology Dictionary

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divorce

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(noun) The formal legal or socially sanctioned termination of a marriage.

Syllabification: di·vorce

Audio Pronunciation

– American English

– British English

International Phonetic Alphabet

Plural: divorces
This is a simplified definition of a vast continuum of societal and cultural practices which determine the basis for a divorce and the repercussions.
In contrast to divorce, a separation is a temporary break in a marriage that may or may not lead to a divorce.
A family resulting from a divorce is called a divorced family and is often a single-parent family. If one of these family types joins with another it is called a blended family.
Type: gray divorce
Also called:
- dissolution of marriage
- divorcement
- marital separation
A (noun) divorcée is a divorced individual, typically referring to a woman and a (noun) divorcer (verb) divorces another individual for (adjective) divorceable or (adjective) divorcive reasons.

“We need to know what the institutional links are between family and society which transmit social norms about everyday behavior. That is, we need to know exactly how patterns of family behavior come to be accepted and how proper solutions for family problems come to be taken for granted. And the recent rise in the number of remarriages after divorce may provide us with a natural laboratory for observing this process of institutionalization. As remarriage after divorce becomes more common, remarried parents and their children probably will generate standards of conduct in conjunction with the larger society. By observing these developments, we can improve our understanding of the sources of unity in married-and remarried-life” (Cherlin 1978:648).

Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
Word origin of “divorce” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Emery, Robert E. 2013. Cultural Sociology of Divorce: An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Hackstaff, Karla B. 1999. Marriage in a Culture of Divorce. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Phillips, Roderick. 1988. Putting Asunder: A History of Divorce in Western Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wallerstein, Judith S., Julia Lewis, and Sandra Blakeslee. 2000. The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25 Year Landmark Study. New York: Hyperion.
Yodanis, Carrie. 2005. “Divorce Culture and Marital Gender Equality: A Cross-national Study.” Gender & Society 19(5):644–59. doi:10.1177/0891243205278166.

Cherlin, Andrew. 1978. “Remarriage as an Incomplete Institution.” American Journal of Sociology 84(3):634–50. doi:10.1086/226830.

Jary, David, and Julia Jary. 2000. Collins Dictionary of Sociology. 3rd ed. Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins.

Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Princeton University. 2010. WordNet. (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “divorce.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 24, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/divorce/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

divorce. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/divorce/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “divorce.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/divorce/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“divorce.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/divorce/>.