Marital status

Marital status

A person's marital status indicates whether the person is married. Questions about marital status appear on many polls and forms, including censuses and credit card applications.

In the simplest sense, the only possible answers are "single" or "married". However, other options are often included, such as "divorced", "widowed",widow or widower, "cohabiting", "civil union", "domestic partnership", and "unmarried partners". While anyone who is not married is technically "single" in legal terms, it is often seen as desirable to include these other items. Some unmarried people do not identify as "single" for a variety of reasons, and may be reluctant to describe themselves that way. In some cases, knowing that people are divorced, widowed, or in a relationship is more useful than simply knowing that they are unmarried.

Family status is the combination of marital status with number of children.

Marital status studied in combination with other factors also reveals a marriage gap.

See also


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • marital status — ➔ status * * * marital status UK US noun [U] ► the state of being either married or not married: »Your change in marital status should have no effect on your career …   Financial and business terms

  • marital status — n [U] whether someone is married used especially on official forms ▪ Marital status: married/single/divorced ▪ questions about age, sex and marital status …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • marital status — n. The condition of being single, married, divorced, separated, or widowed. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008 …   Law dictionary

  • marital status — noun uncount FORMAL used for asking officially whether you are married or not …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • marital status — noun the condition of being married or unmarried • Topics: ↑law, ↑jurisprudence • Hypernyms: ↑legal status • Hyponyms: ↑marriage, ↑matrimony, ↑union, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • marital status — N UNCOUNT Your marital status is whether you are married, single, or divorced. [FORMAL] How well off you are in old age is largely determined by race, sex, and marital status …   English dictionary

  • ˌmarital ˈstatus — noun [U] formal your marital status is whether you are married, divorced, SINGLE, or WIDOWED …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • marital status — official status of a person regarding marriage (i.e. married, divorced, single, widow, etc.) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • marital status — The status of one as a single or married person …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • marital status — noun One of several discrete options describing a persons relationship with a significant other …   Wiktionary

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