spouse

(spous, spouz)

A marriage partner; a husband or wife.

tr.v. (spouz, spous) spoused, spous·ing, spous·es Archaic

To marry; wed.

[Middle English, from Old French spous, from Latin spōnsus, from past participle of spondēre, to pledge; see spend- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spouse

a person's partner in marriage.

(tr) obsolete to marry

[C12: from Old French spus (masculine), spuse (feminine), from Latin sponsus, sponsa betrothed man or woman, from spondēre to promise solemnly]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spouse

(spaʊs, spaʊz)

n., v. spoused, spous•ing. n.

1. one's husband or wife.

v.t.

2. Archaic. to wed.

[1150–1200; < Old French spous (masculine), spouse (feminine) < Latin spōnsus, spōnsa literally, pledged (man, woman), n. uses of past participle of spondēre to pledge]

spouse

Past participle: spoused
Gerund: spousing

Imperative
spouse
spouse

Present
I spouse
you spouse
he/she/it spouses
we spouse
you spouse
they spouse

Preterite
I spoused
you spoused
he/she/it spoused
we spoused
you spoused
they spoused

Present Continuous
I am spousing
you are spousing
he/she/it is spousing
we are spousing
you are spousing
they are spousing

Present Perfect
I have spoused
you have spoused
he/she/it has spoused
we have spoused
you have spoused
they have spoused

Past Continuous
I was spousing
you were spousing
he/she/it was spousing
we were spousing
you were spousing
they were spousing

Past Perfect
I had spoused
you had spoused
he/she/it had spoused
we had spoused
you had spoused
they had spoused

Future
I will spouse
you will spouse
he/she/it will spouse
we will spouse
you will spouse
they will spouse

Future Perfect
I will have spoused
you will have spoused
he/she/it will have spoused
we will have spoused
you will have spoused
they will have spoused

Future Continuous
I will be spousing
you will be spousing
he/she/it will be spousing
we will be spousing
you will be spousing
they will be spousing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been spousing
you have been spousing
he/she/it has been spousing
we have been spousing
you have been spousing
they have been spousing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been spousing
you will have been spousing
he/she/it will have been spousing
we will have been spousing
you will have been spousing
they will have been spousing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been spousing
you had been spousing
he/she/it had been spousing
we had been spousing
you had been spousing
they had been spousing

Conditional
I would spouse
you would spouse
he/she/it would spouse
we would spouse
you would spouse
they would spouse

Past Conditional
I would have spoused
you would have spoused
he/she/it would have spoused
we would have spoused
you would have spoused
they would have spoused

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

spouse - a person's partner in marriage

better half, married person, partner, mate

man and wife, married couple, marriage - two people who are married to each other; "his second marriage was happier than the first"; "a married couple without love"

bigamist - someone who marries one person while already legally married to another

consort - the husband or wife of a reigning monarch

domestic partner, significant other, spousal equivalent, spouse equivalent - a person (not necessarily a spouse) with whom you cohabit and share a long-term sexual relationship

helpmate, helpmeet - a helpful partner

hubby, husband, married man - a married man; a woman's partner in marriage

relative, relation - a person related by blood or marriage; "police are searching for relatives of the deceased"; "he has distant relations back in New Jersey"

monogamist, monogynist - someone who practices monogamy (one spouse at a time)

honeymooner, newlywed - someone recently married

polygamist - someone who is married to two or more people at the same time

married woman, wife - a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

spouse

noun partner, mate, husband or wife, companion, consort, significant other (U.S. informal), better half (humorous), her indoors (Brit. slang), helpmate, bidie-in (Scot.), squeeze (informal) living with someone other than a spouse

Related words
adjective spousal

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

spouse

noun

A husband or wife:

consort, mate, partner.

Informal: better half.

Translations

زَوْجزَوْج أو زَوْجَه

cònjugeespòs

choť-kamanžel

ægtefælle

Gatte Ehegatte

σύζυγος

cónyuge esposo esposa consorte

puolisosiippaaviopuoliso

époux épouse femme mari conjoint

suprugsuprugasupružnik

maki

coniuge sposo consorte sposa

配偶者

배우자

coniunxmaritusuxor

sutuoktinis

dzīvesbiedrs

echtgenoot

ektefelle

małżonek

cónjugecônjuge esposa esposo

супруг супруга

maka/make

สามีหรือภรรยา

eş

chồng

配偶

spouse

[spaʊs] N → cónyuge mf

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spouse

[ˈspaʊs] n (formal) → époux (épouse)m/f (LAW) → conjoint(e) m/f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

spouse

n (form) → Gatte m, → Gattin f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

spouse

[spaʊs] n (frm) → sposo/a

spouse

(spaus) noun

a husband or wife.

spouse

→ زَوْج choť ægtefælle Gatte σύζυγος cónyuge puoliso époux supružnik consorte 配偶者 배우자 echtgenoot ektefelle małżonek cônjuge супруг maka/make สามีหรือภรรยา eş chồng 配偶

spouse

n. esposo-a.

spouse

n esposo -sa mf

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

bereaved was Creusa then, my spouse; I wot not how, Whether by fate, or missing of the way, Or that she was by weariness retain'd; But never sith these eyes might her behold.

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To the horror of her affectionate spouse, she was stripped of her garments, and given to understand that she could no longer carry on her deceits with impunity.

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Come in with me, and let your squires come also, that my sweet spouse, the Lady Tiphaine, may say that she hath seen so famed and gentle a knight."

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"Yes, as you see, your tender spouse, as devoted as the first year after marriage, burned with impatience to see you," he said in his deliberate, high-pitched voice, and in that tone which he almost always took with her, a tone of jeering at anyone who should say in earnest what he said.

View in context

'Scarce had the rubicund Apollo spread o'er the face of the broad spacious earth the golden threads of his bright hair, scarce had the little birds of painted plumage attuned their notes to hail with dulcet and mellifluous harmony the coming of the rosy Dawn, that, deserting the soft couch of her jealous spouse, was appearing to mortals at the gates and balconies of the Manchegan horizon, when the renowned knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, quitting the lazy down, mounted his celebrated steed Rocinante and began to traverse the ancient and famous Campo de Montiel;'" which in fact he was actually traversing.

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As for him, he had only been struck with a "queer" idea; and he laughed to think that for a few moments he, Passepartout, the ex-gymnast, ex-sergeant fireman, had been the spouse of a charming woman, a venerable, embalmed rajah!

View in context

It is true, he had another wife, of older date than the one in question; who, therefore, took command in his household, and treated his new spouse as a slave; but the latter was the wife of his last fancy, his latest caprice; and was precious in his eyes.

View in context

Her application to a sober life and industrious management at last in Virginia, with her transported spouse, is a story fruitful of instruction to all the unfortunate creatures who are obliged to seek their re-establishment abroad, whether by the misery of transportation or other disaster; letting them know that diligence and application have their due encouragement, even in the remotest parts of the world, and that no case can be so low, so despicable, or so empty of prospect, but that an unwearied industry will go a great way to deliver us from it, will in time raise the meanest creature to appear again the world, and give him a new case for his life.

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Of the voices, one, and that a pretty loud one’, came from the spouse of the commander himself, who frequently reproached her husband for condescending to lead such an irregular band of warriors, after he had filled the honorable station of sergeant-major to a dashing corps of Virginia cavalry through much of the recent war.

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Vainly had Silverstein striven to stay the spouse's wrath.

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Since I do not approve of the usual plan of neglecting and avoiding a spouse without ceasing to keep up appearances, I cannot for the life of me see what else I could have done than vanish when I found out my mistake.

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Impressed with the awe which the humblest sleeped usually sheds around him, the merchant trod as lightly as the gout would allow; and his spouse took good heed not to rustle her silk gown, lest David should start up all of a sudden.

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