“Remarry”: Tenses, Usage & Examples

Remarry – to marry again after a previous marriage has ended. You’ll encounter this word in conversations about relationships, family structure, legal matters, and any discussion of life after divorce or bereavement.

Part of speech:

Verb (regular, transitive and intransitive)

Phonetic transcription (IPA):

/ˌriːˈmer.i/

CEFR level:

B1

Word frequency:

Proper Pronunciation of “Remarry”

Audio (UK):

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Audio (US):

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There are three syllables with a primary stress on the second one: re-MAR-ry. The prefix “re” bears a secondary stress and should be pronounced using a clear long /iː/ sound: /riː/, not a weak /rɪ/ as in “repeat.”

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Conjugation of “Remarry”

Since “remarry” derives from “marry,” it shares the same conjugations, including the same irregularity of changing the spelling of the word when adding “-es” or “-ed”. When there is a consonant + “y” in the end of the word, it changes into “i” when forming “-es” or “-ed” conjugation endings.

Tense	Structure	Example
Present Simple	subject + remarry/remarries	He remarries after many years alone.
Present Continuous	subject + am/is/are + remarrying	She is remarrying next month.
Present Perfect	subject + have/has + remarried	He has remarried since the divorce.
Present Perfect Continuous	subject + have/has been + remarrying	They have been remarrying in different legal ceremonies across two countries.
Past Simple	subject + remarried	She remarried five years after her divorce.
Past Continuous	subject + was/were + remarrying	He was remarrying at the time his family moved abroad.
Past Perfect	subject + had + remarried	She had remarried before her ex-husband returned to the city.
Past Perfect Continuous	subject + had been + remarrying	They had been remarrying through a long traditional ceremony when the rain started.
Future Simple	subject + will + remarry	He will remarry when he feels ready.
Future Continuous	subject + will be + remarrying	She will be remarrying at this time next Saturday.
Future Perfect	subject + will have + remarried	By next year, he will have remarried.
Future Perfect Continuous	subject + will have been + remarrying	By noon, they will have been remarrying for several hours because the ceremony is very long.

Transitive vs. Intransitive: How to Use “Remarry”

This is the one grammar lesson most people leave out and end up getting wrong when writing. The verb “remarry” can either be used transitively or intransitively, and each has its own slight differences in meaning. Knowing both forms will make you a better writer, speaker and reader, particularly when it comes to longer articles about family or social issues.

Intransitive Use: No Direct Object

The intransitive form is far more common. It describes the act of marrying again without specifying the new partner. The focus is on the person doing the remarrying.

She decided not to remarry after her divorce, preferring to build an independent life.

Research suggests that men who remarry tend to do so sooner after divorce than women.

Whether he would ever remarry was a question he genuinely could not answer.

Transitive Use: With a Direct Object

The transitive form names the new partner directly. It is less common in everyday speech but appears in literary writing, journalism, and formal description.

  He remarried his college girlfriend twenty years after they had both divorced their respective spouses.
  She remarried a man she had known briefly in her twenties, and found, to her genuine surprise, that the second attempt felt completely different.

“Remarry” Across Real Contexts

Notice the following sentences divided according to the contexts they belong to, and note how the meaning changes according to the environment surrounding the word in question. “Remarry” becomes an emotionally loaded term from a neutral one used in formal situations.

Personal Life & Relationships

  Her decision to remarry was not made lightly: it followed two years of reflection, one serious conversation with each of her three children, and a great deal of quiet courage.
  When he remarried, he brought three children from his first marriage into a household that already included two from his new partner’s previous relationship.
  She remarried at fifty-eight, which she points out is an age when most people around you have stopped assuming you will, and which made the decision feel entirely her own.

Legal & Administrative Contexts

Before remarrying, she was advised to review the terms of her divorce settlement, as remarriage can affect certain financial arrangements, particularly spousal maintenance.

Under family law, a parent who remarries does not automatically acquire parental responsibility for their new partner’s children.

The pension provider required confirmation that she had not remarried, since the survivor’s benefit was conditional on remaining a widow.

Verb “Remarry” in Other Languages

Learn about the proper spelling and pronunciation of the word “remarry” in other languages such as German, Spanish and French. Look at the following translations, listen to how they sound and repeat.