marital

The word "marital" relates to or concerns marriage. It is an adjective used for things connected with being married, rather than the wedding ceremony itself, which is more often described as "nuptial." A wedding is a single event, but marital life refers to the ongoing relationship between spouses. The phrase "marital status" is also common on official forms, where it means whether a person is single, married, divorced, widowed, or separated.

You'll often encounter "marital" in legal contexts. Marital property, marital assets, and marital rights are common terms in family law. The word also appears often in discussions about relationships and family life. A therapist might offer marital counseling to help a couple work through problems, while an article might discuss marital satisfaction, marital stress, or changing marital patterns in society.

"Marital" is not just about legal matters or counseling, though. It can also describe qualities within a marriage: marital harmony, marital fidelity, or marital conflict. The word covers many parts of the bond between two spouses, from legal rights to emotional connection. So if something belongs to marriage or to the relationship between spouses, "marital" is often the right word.