gray divorce

Definition of Gray Divorce

(noun) A divorce between an older couple.

Example of Gray Divorce

• Two 65-year old individuals decide to divorce.
  

Gray Divorce Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: gray di·vorce

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /greɪ dɪˈvɔrs/
• British English – /greɪ dɪˈvɔːs/

Usage Notes

• Plural: gray divorces
• Variant spellings:
  • gray-divorce
  • grey divorce

Additional Information

• Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “gray” and “divorce” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Emery, Robert E., ed. 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.

Related Terms

• covenant marriage
• deinstitutionalization of marriage
• divorce
• divorced family
• divorce probability
• divorce rate
• law
• legal
• marriage
• monogamy
• single-parent family

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Cite the Definition of Gray Divorce

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “gray divorce.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved June 5, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/gray-divorce/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

gray divorce. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/gray-divorce/

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

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “gray divorce.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/gray-divorce/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“gray divorce.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 5 Jun. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/gray-divorce/>.