separation

[ sep-uh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of separating or the state of being separated.
2. a place, line, or point of parting.
3. a gap, hole, rent, or the like.
4. something that separates or divides.
5. Law.
   1. cessation of conjugal cohabitation, as by mutual consent.
   2. judicial separation.
6. Aerospace. the time or act of releasing a burned-out stage of a rocket or missile from the remainder.
7. Photography. separation negative.

separation

/ ˌsɛpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of separating or state of being separated
2. the place or line where a separation is made
3. a gap that separates
4. family law the cessation of cohabitation between a man and wife, either by mutual agreement or under a decree of a court Compare judicial separation divorce
5. 1. the act of jettisoning a burnt-out stage of a multistage rocket
   2. the instant at which such a stage is jettisoned

Other Words From

• nonsep·a·ration noun
• presep·a·ration noun
• resep·a·ration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of separation¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin sēparātiōn- (stem of sēparātiō ), equivalent to sēparāt ( us ) separate + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The separation, which will likely close in about a year, has already prompted a new management structure for NBCUniversal.

From Los Angeles Times

There is, he has said, “no separation of church and state.”

From Los Angeles Times

There are, of course, other brakes on the tendency of one-party rule to subvert the system of separation of powers and checks and balances.

From Salon

Paxton led the appeal to the state Supreme Court when the legislature's subpoena created a question about the separation of powers between the state's branches of government.

From Salon

Hague said that people at the time were saying “it’s Princess Diana and Charles”, in a reference to the separation of now King Charles III and the late Princess of Wales.

From BBC

Related Words

• departure
• disengagement
• dissolution
• divorce
• estrangement
• partition
• segregation
• split