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

Rebecca Markert, vice president and legal director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said St. Gertrude could lose its tax-exempt status for violating the law.

From Los Angeles Times

We do know that as head of ICE, he oversaw the separation of families who dared to cross the border in search of a safer, better life.

From Los Angeles Times

Today, with family separation policies likely in the Trump administration, many families may find themselves hanging by a similarly fragile thread.

From Los Angeles Times

Homan served in Trump’s first administration as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — ICE — overseeing the forcible separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents at the border.

From Los Angeles Times

No wonder that one of the brightest lines of separation among the top two candidates was Cornyn’s support of party leader term limits, an idea that repulses McConnell.

From Slate

Related Words

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