noun · formal
spouse
/spaʊs/SPOUSE
A husband or wife; a neutral word for a married partner.
Examples
“On the form, you must state whether your spouse is joining you.”
“Her spouse works abroad.”
“The law treats a spouse differently from an unmarried partner.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although 'spouse' sounds formal, I used it on the legal documents because it unambiguously refers to a married partner.”
Collocations
- legal spouse
- faithful spouse
- spousal support
Word family
Common mistakes
My spouse is Tom but we are not married.→My partner is Tom; we are not married.
She is my spouse, we live together casually.→She is my partner; we live together casually.
Say it for a higher band
5husband / wife→6partner→7+spouse
Synonyms
husband / wife
partner
Easily confused
partner
“He introduced her as his partner — you need context to know if they're married.”
husband / wife
“Her husband works in finance.”
Related words
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In Family & Relationships
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