Meaning & use
spousal
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounformallegal
relating to a husband or wife, especially in legal or official matters
Grammar: Always comes before the noun and is not used after a verb: spousal rights, not 'the rights are spousal'.
Patterns
- spousal + noun (spousal support, spousal consent, spousal privilege)
The court ordered him to pay spousal support after the divorce.
In some countries, spousal consent is required before a person can take out a large loan.
The lawyer explained the difference between child support and spousal maintenance.
adjectivebefore a nounformallegal
involving or caused by a husband or wife, especially harm or abuse
Grammar: Used before nouns like abuse, violence, or rape to show that the victim and the offender are married to each other.
Patterns
- spousal abuse
- spousal violence
The charity provides shelter for victims of spousal abuse.
Laws against spousal rape have become stricter in many places.
She wrote a report on spousal violence in rural communities.
Common combinations
- spousal support
- After the separation, she received spousal support for two years.
- spousal consent
- The hospital requires spousal consent for certain procedures.
- spousal abuse
- The hotline offers help to people facing spousal abuse.
- spousal privilege
- In some legal systems, spousal privilege allows a person not to testify against their husband or wife.
- spousal benefits
- Employees can choose health insurance that includes spousal benefits.
Synonyms and how they differ
- marital
- Marital refers to marriage in general (marital status, marital problems), while spousal focuses on the husband or wife as a person.
- conjugal
- Conjugal is a formal word about the relationship between married people, often used in phrases like conjugal visit; spousal is more common in legal and financial contexts.
- matrimonial
- Matrimonial relates to marriage as a legal institution (matrimonial home, matrimonial law); spousal is narrower and points to one of the partners.
Word family
Commonly confused: spousal or spouse? spousal or spatial?
spousal vs spouse
Spouse is a noun meaning 'husband or wife'; spousal is the adjective. Don't say 'spousal support' when you mean the person — say 'my spouse'.
spousal vs spatial
Spatial means relating to space or position, and sounds similar. Spousal is only about husbands and wives.
Practice
After the divorce, the judge ordered him to pay ______ support.
Choose one answer.
The blank needs an adjective before the noun 'support', and the meaning is 'relating to a husband or wife', so 'spousal' is correct. 'Spouse' is a noun and cannot modify another noun here. 'Spatial' means relating to space, and 'spatially' is an adverb, so neither fits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spousal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.