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Glite Dictionary
to become one flesh

to become one flesh

2 8.4
To join fully as a married couple, sharing their bodies and lives
  • idiom
  • Literature
translation icon : unirse en cuerpo y alma
  • For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
  • two shall become one flesh

Examples

  • When they made their vows at the altar, they promised to love each other and to become one flesh.

  • "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."

    Blog text (12)

  • For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother... ...and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

    Fireproof (2008)

  • "For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."

    Blog text (19)

  • For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' ...

    Academic text (2002)

  • And the two become one flesh.

    Blog text (18)

  • For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

    Blog text (31)

  • Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning "made them leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"?

    Blog text (20)

  • "But from the beginning of creation, said Jesus, leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.

    Blog text (2)

  • Little wonder the scripture clarifies that when a man marries, he is joined to his wife and they become one flesh.

    Blog text (30)

Synonyms

to become one with
vsto become one flesh
13 7.3

To feel completely joined with something or someone, often in a calm way

is an intimate, complete union especially between married partners

Antonyms

divorce
963 2.9

An official ending of a marriage by a court

separate
829 2.1

Not joined to another thing and kept apart

How United

to become one flesh
  • Literature
2 8.4
to bond
149 2.9
to unite
∞ 2.1

Surface Forms

become one flesh infinitive
becoming one flesh present participle
becomes one flesh third person singular
became one flesh past
become one flesh past participle

Morphology

become + one + flesh

The sense of 'uniting into a single body' is partly derivable from 'become' (change into) + 'one' (single unit) + 'flesh' (the body), so learners can infer a physical or intimate joining. However, the phrase is metaphorical/biblical and carries cultural/marital nuance that is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so an uninstructed B1 learner may not grasp the full idiomatic force.

Etymology

Become one flesh comes from the Bible, where a husband and wife are said to become one flesh after marriage, sharing body and life, and that strong image explains the idea. That's why today it means 'to unite completely', especially as a married couple.