Meaning & use
wedlock
The state of being married.
See it in a sentence
The couple's children were born within wedlock, after a small ceremony in spring.
Old legal documents often distinguished children born in wedlock from those born outside it.
A note on using this word
Now mostly found in formal, legal, or old-fashioned contexts, especially the phrase 'out of wedlock.'
Words with a similar meaning
marriagematrimony
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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