marital status
Marital status (noun) means a person's legal position with regard to marriage, recorded on official forms as single, married, in a civil partnership, separated, divorced or widowed. Example: “The application asks for your name, date of birth and marital status.”
How to Use Marital status
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishWhether you are single, married, divorced or widowed.
Formal and bureaucratic; belongs to forms, censuses, tax returns and employment law rather than conversation.
Watch the spelling: marital relates to marriage, while martial relates to war or the military.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The application asks for your name, date of birth and _____.
Etymology
From Latin maritalis 'of marriage', from maritus 'husband', plus status 'condition, standing'.
Synonyms
View more →Rhymes for marital status
See all rhymes for marital status →Frequently Asked Questions
What are the options for marital status?
The usual categories on official forms are single, married, in a civil partnership, separated, divorced and widowed. Some forms add "never married" or "domestic partnership" depending on the country.
What marital status do I put if I live with my partner but am not married?
Legally you are still single unless you have registered a civil partnership. Some forms offer "cohabiting" or "domestic partnership" as a separate option, but this does not change your legal marital status.
What is the difference between marital status and civil status?
They largely overlap. "Civil status" is the broader term used in many legal systems and can cover nationality and parentage as well; "marital status" refers only to whether a person is or has been married.