Spouse Meaning
/spaʊ̯s/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA person in a marriage or marital relationship.
verbTo wed; to espouse.
Sentence Examples
She was an excellent spouse who stood by him through poverty.
Mr. Pierre and his spouse really like my children; I really like their children too.
Fill in your spouse’s name here.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ helped her study for the exam every night after work.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He invited his ____ to join him on the business trip to Paris for a short holiday weekend.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced native Old English ġemaca. Related to espouse and sponsor.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"At last such grace I found, and meanes I wrought, / That I that Ladie to my spouse had wonne"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 21:
"But mama got wise to the game / The youngest of five kids, hon here it is / After ten years without no spouse / Mama's gettin married in the house"
— 1992, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”, in Mecca and the Soul Brother:
"Do you stand possess’d
Of any proof against the honourableness
Of Lady Auranthe, our new-spoused daughter?"
— 1819, John Keats, Otho the Great, act III, scene II, verses 212-214:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ helped her study for the exam every night after work.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He invited his ____ to join him on the business trip to Paris for a short holiday weekend.