husbandless
Lacking male partner
Without a husband.
The word applies to women who have never married, whose husbands have died, or who are divorced: She raised three children husbandless.
The term is somewhat old-fashioned, carrying a faint suggestion that lacking a husband is a deficiency rather than a neutral state.
One in number
- spinsterUnmarried older woman
- bacheloretteUnmarried woman
- unwedNot hitched
- maidenUnmarried young woman
unattached · independent · solo · eligible · unmarried woman · free · autonomous · self-reliant
Bereaved wife, unmarried since
- bereavedDeprived by death
- survivingRemaining alive or intact
- mourningPeriod following loss
- lossBeing without something
grief · alone · black veil · funeral · estate · inheritance · widower · death
Legally ended marriage
- separatedPut or kept apart
- splitSeparation into parts
- custodyProtective care or control
- alimonyCourt-ordered post-divorce payments
settlement · single again · dissolution · former spouse · papers · decree · division · estranged
single
One in number
- spinsterUnmarried older woman
- bacheloretteUnmarried woman
- unwedNot hitched
maiden · unattached · independent · solo · eligible · unmarried woman · free · autonomous · self-reliant · alone
widow
Bereaved wife, unmarried since
loss · grief · alone · black veil · funeral · estate · inheritance · widower · death · memorial
divorced
Legally ended marriage
alimony · settlement · single again · dissolution · former spouse · papers · decree · division · estranged · separation
deserted
Left behind, uninhabited
estranged · disappeared · ghosted · stranded · cast aside · neglected · discarded · departed · jilted · fled