segregation

[ seg-ri-gey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or practice of segregating; a setting apart or separation of people or things from others or from the main body or group:

   gender segregation in some fundamentalist religions.

2. the institutional separation of an ethnic, racial, religious, or other minority group from the dominant majority.
3. the state or condition of being segregated, set apart, separated, or restricted to one group:

   Segregation on buses meant that the seats at the front were reserved for white passengers.

   the segregation of private clubs.

4. something segregated, or set apart.
5. Genetics. the separation of allelic genes into different gametes during meiosis. Compare law of segregation.

segregation

/ ˌsɛɡrɪˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of segregating or state of being segregated
2. sociol the practice or policy of creating separate facilities within the same society for the use of a minority group
3. genetics the separation at meiosis of the two members of any pair of alleles into separate gametes See also Mendel's laws
4. metallurgy the process in which a component of an alloy or solid solution separates in small regions within the solid or on the solid's surface

segregation

1. The policy and practice of imposing the separation of races. In the United States, the policy of segregation denied African-Americans their civil rights and provided inferior facilities and services for them, most noticeably in public schools ( see Brown versus Board of Education), housing, and industry. ( See integration , National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , and separate but equal .)

Derived Forms

• ˌsegreˈgational, adjective

Other Words From

• segre·gation·al adjective
• anti·segre·gation noun adjective
• nonseg·re·gation noun
• reseg·re·gation noun
• unseg·re·gation·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of segregation¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Late Latin sēgregātiōn-, stem of sēgregātiō, from sēgregāt(us) “separated” (past participle of sēgregāre “to part from the flock”; segregate ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

Gauff's response drew on her family's experience of the move away from racial segregation in the United States.

From BBC

Their appeal asked the justices to either throw out the state court ruling entirely or instead order the “segregation of affected provisional ballots” so they can be counted separately.

From Los Angeles Times

The end of slavery gave way to laws that denied Black people in the U.S. basic rights, enforced racial segregation, and subjected them to horrific violence.

From Salon

Right-wing political activists saw an opportunity to bring evangelical voters together with Republicans, but they needed a different issue from racial segregation to make the affiliation more palatable.

From Los Angeles Times

But, he continued, the separation of church and state does not and should not mean a segregation of moral values from public life.

From Salon

Related Words

• apartheid
• discrimination
• isolation
• partition