segregate

[ verb seg-ri-geyt; noun seg-ri-git, -geyt ]

verb (used with object)

, seg·re·gat·ed, seg·re·gat·ing.

1. to separate or set apart from others or from the main body or group; isolate:

   to segregate exceptional children; to segregate hardened criminals.

   Antonyms: integrate

2. to require, by law or custom, the separation of (an ethnic, racial, religious, or other minority group) from the dominant majority.

verb (used without object)

, seg·re·gat·ed, seg·re·gat·ing.

1. to separate, withdraw, or go apart; separate from the main body and collect in one place; become segregated.
2. to practice, require, or enforce segregation, especially racial segregation.
3. Genetics. (of allelic genes) to separate during meiosis.

noun

1. a segregated thing, person, or group.

segregate

/ ˈsɛɡrɪɡəbəl; ˈsɛɡrɪˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. to set or be set apart from others or from the main group
2. tr to impose segregation on (a racial or minority group)
3. genetics metallurgy to undergo or cause to undergo segregation

Derived Forms

• ˈsegreˌgative, adjective
• ˈsegreˌgator, noun
• segregable, adjective

Other Words From

• seg·re·ga·ble [seg, -ri-g, uh, -b, uh, l], adjective
• segre·gative adjective
• non·segre·ga·ble adjective
• non·segre·gative adjective
• re·segre·gate verb resegregated resegregating
• un·segre·ga·ble adjective
• un·segre·gating adjective
• un·segre·gative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of segregate¹

1400–50 in sense “segregated”; 1535–45 as transitive v.; late Middle English segregat < Latin sēgregātus (past participle of sēgregāre to part from the flock), equivalent to sē- se- + greg- (stem of grex flock) + -ātus -ate ¹; gregarious

Word History and Origins

Origin of segregate¹

C16: from Latin sēgregāre, from sē- apart + grex a flock

Example Sentences

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee that sought to "segregate" certain ballots from Georgia's Democratic strongholds.

From Salon

The bomb threats came on the same day that a federal judge tossed a lawsuit from the Republican National Committee that hoped to "segregate" absentee ballots returned in person over the weekend in several metro Atlanta counties.

From Salon

It also argued that housing a majority of veterans with serious mental illness or traumatic brain injury on the campus would “segregate them from the broader community and would likely result in their stigmatization based on their disabilities.”

From Los Angeles Times

It reflected the will of white people to segregate.

From Los Angeles Times

In that opinion, the Supreme Court held that North Carolina’s redistricting scheme was “so irrational on its face that it can be understood only as an effort to segregate voters into separate districts on the basis of race.”

From Salon

Related Words

• disconnect
• divide
• insulate
• isolate
• sequester
• single out