disjunction

[ dis-juhngk-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of disjoining or the state of being disjoined:

   a disjunction between thought and action.

2. Logic.
   1. Also called disjunctive, inclusive disjunction. a compound proposition that is true if and only if at least one of a number of alternatives is true.
   2. Also called exclusive disjunction. a compound proposition that is true if and only if one and only one of a number of alternatives is true.
   3. the relation among the components of such a proposition, usually expressed by OR or V.

disjunction

/ dɪsˈdʒʌŋkʃən /

noun

1. Also calleddisjuncture the act of disconnecting or the state of being disconnected; separation
2. cytology the separation of the chromosomes of each homologous pair during the anaphase of meiosis
3. logic
   1. the operator that forms a compound sentence from two given sentences and corresponds to the English or
   2. a sentence so formed. Usually written p ∨ q where p, q are the component sentences, it is true (inclusive sense) whenever either or both of the latter are true; the exclusive disjunction, for which there is no symbol, is true when either but not both disjuncts is
   3. the relation between such sentences

Word History and Origins

Origin of disjunction¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English disjunccioun from Latin disjunctiōn- (stem of disjunctiō ) “separation,” equivalent to disjunct(us) ( disjunct ( def ) ) + -iōn- -ion ( def )

Example Sentences

Sherman sees the disjunctions in her new work’s faces almost as an exercise in cubism.

From New York Times

Indoors, cozy domestic interiors in a large, multipanel painting by Tidawhitney Lek jump to a scene of Cambodian war zone violence, the sharp disjunction offered as routine, seamless experience.

From Los Angeles Times

These findings are another reflection of the disjunction between people's perceptions and the political status quo.

From Salon

It is a story of motherhood and disjunction, of self-making and villainy, of a remarkable power depicted and deployed on an intimate scale.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s tempting to point out the disjunction between the author’s fundamental outsider stance and his postmortem embrace by the institutional intelligentsia.

From Washington Post