Meaning & use
estranged spouse
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableformal
A husband or wife who is still legally married to someone but no longer lives with them or has a close relationship.
Grammar: Often with a possessive: his estranged spouse.
Patterns
- someone's estranged spouse
The actor and his estranged spouse are negotiating a settlement.
She named her estranged spouse as the sole beneficiary by mistake.
The police contacted the victim's estranged spouse.
Word forms
| plural | estranged spouses |
|---|
Common combinations
- his estranged spouse
- His estranged spouse filed for divorce.
- her estranged spouse
- Her estranged spouse lives abroad.
- contact an estranged spouse
- The lawyer will contact the estranged spouse.
- estranged spouse's property
- He is entitled to his estranged spouse's property.
Synonyms and how they differ
- separated spouse
- It focuses on living apart and does not suggest a bad relationship.
- ex
- It is informal and suggests the marriage has ended, whereas estranged spouse stays married.
- former partner
- It means the relationship is over, which may not be true of an estranged spouse.
Opposites
Word family
- estrange verb
- to make someone less close
- estrangement noun
- the state of being estranged
- estranged adjective
- no longer close or in contact
- spouse noun
- a husband or wife
Commonly confused: estranged spouse or ex-spouse?
estranged spouse vs ex-spouse
It means a person you are no longer married to, while an estranged spouse is still married.
Practice
What makes someone an estranged spouse rather than an ex-spouse?
Choose one answer.
Estranged spouse means still married but separated. Divorced people are ex-spouses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “estranged spouse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.