How is marriage defined

The legal relation of a man and woman as husband and wife. The state of being married; relation between spouses; married life; wedlock; matrimony. Any close or intimate union. The definition of marriage is the religious or legal process through which people become husband and wife, husband and husband or wife and wife, or the state of being married.

A close union. Marital relationship arising not from formal ceremony but from intention to hold out as a married couple, combined with living together for a requisite period of years that may be specified by statute; abolished in many states. A joining of two parts. A wedding. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'marriage.

Send us feedback. Middle English mariage , from Anglo-French, from marier to marry. See more words from the same century. Accessed 11 Nov. More Definitions for marriage. Nglish: Translation of marriage for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of marriage for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Essential Meaning of marriage. They have a very happy marriage. Create a personalised content profile.

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Develop and improve products. The wife's obligations were maintaining a home, living in the home, having sexual relations with her husband, and rearing the couple's children. Today, the underlying concept that marriage is a legal contract still remains, but due to changes in society the legal obligations are not the same. Marriage is chiefly regulated by the states. The Supreme Court has held that states are permitted to reasonably regulate the institution by prescribing who is allowed to marry and how the marriage can be dissolved.

Entering into a marriage changes the legal status of both parties and gives both husband and wife new rights and obligations. One power that the states do not have, however, is that of prohibiting marriage in the absence of a valid reason.

For example, in Loving v. Virginia , the Supreme Court held that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.