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Widow vs Divorce - What's the difference?

widow | divorce |

As nouns the difference between widow and divorce

is that widow is a woman whose husband has died (and who has not remarried); feminine of widower while divorce is a divorced man.

As a verb widow

is to make a widow (or widower) of someone; to cause the death of one's spouse.

widow

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A woman whose husband has died (and who has not remarried); feminine of widower.
  • (informal, in combination) A woman whose husband is often away pursuing a sport, etc.
  • * 1988', Emily Parry, " For a Bowling '''Widow , a Split Isn't Just Two Lonely Pins," ''New York Times , 27 Nov.,
    • I had been feeling like a bowling-alley widow , but knew he loved the game, so I suggested we join a mixed league.
  • An additional hand of cards dealt face down in some card games, to be used by the highest bidder.
  • (printing) A single line of type that ends a paragraph, carried over to the next page or column.
  • A venomous spider, of the genus Latrodectus .

    • Related terms

    * widower * widowhood

    Derived terms

    * black widow * golf widow * grass widow * widow bird * widow-maker

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make a widow (or widower) of someone; to cause the death of one's spouse.
    • English transitive verbs

    divorce

    English

    (wikipedia divorce)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The legal dissolution of a marriage.
    • Richard obtained a divorce from his wife some years ago, but hasn't returned to the dating scene.
  • A separation of connected things.
    • The Civil War split between Virginia and West Virginia was a divorce based along cultural and economic as well as geographic lines.
  • * Shakespeare
    • to make divorce of their incorporate league
  • (obsolete) That which separates.
    • (Shakespeare)

    Synonyms

    * (legal dissolution of a marriage) divorcement * (separation of connected things) partition, separation, severance

    Antonyms

    * marriage

    Derived terms

    * velvet divorce

    Verb

    (divorc)
  • To legally dissolve a marriage between two people.
    • A ship captain can marry couples, but cannot divorce them.
  • To end one's own marriage in this way.
    • Lucy divorced Steve when she discovered that he had been unfaithful.
  • To separate something that was connected.
    • The radical group voted to divorce itself from the main faction and start an independent movement.
  • To obtain a legal divorce.
    • Edna and Simon divorced last year; he got the house, and she retained the business.

    Synonyms

    * (to legally dissolve a marriage) split up * (to separate something that was connected) disassociate, disjoint, dissociate, disunite, separate

    Antonyms

    * marry

    Derived terms

    * innocently divorced