disassociate
Americanverb (used with object)
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disassociates,
present (3rd person singular)
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disassociated,
past participle, past
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disassociating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disassociatesimple
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disassociatessimple
-
have disassociatedperfect
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has disassociatedperfect
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am disassociatingprogressive
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are disassociatingprogressive
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is disassociatingprogressive
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have been disassociatingperfect progressive
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has been disassociatingperfect progressive
Past
-
disassociatedsimple
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had disassociatedperfect
-
was disassociatingprogressive
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were disassociatingprogressive
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had been disassociatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disassociate
Explanation
It’s often said that we are the company we keep, so it makes sense to disassociate — or distance ourselves — from people whose behaviors and beliefs we do not wish to be connected to. To disassociate means to separate yourself from a person, group, or idea. For example, if you end a friendship with your long-time buddies because you value honesty and they do not, you are disassociating from them. This term often indicates an intentional effort to distance oneself from certain people, organizations, beliefs, or behaviors that are no longer acceptable to you so that you are no longer associated with them.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I disassociate the idea of getting a medal because that's when I operate best," the Cambridge-born athlete said.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
In trying to disassociate herself from the scandal, Melania’s lack of acknowledgment of her husband’s ties to Epstein stands out as a confusing, but increasingly familiar, bit of cognitive dissonance.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2026
Realistically, my husband and I would probably end the day by binge-watching bad reality TV to decompress and disassociate for a little bit — something like “Love Island.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
Another police officer, Richard Scott, who helped gather the bodies of those killed, told the inquiry he binned his blood-soaked clothing after his shift to try to "disassociate from the scene".
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2025
In 1901, in fact, in order to more fully disassociate itself from the infamous prison, the town changed its name to Ossining.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
"The production disassociates you with much of the feeling and heft of live performance."
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Notably, reformist President Mohammad Khatami’s foreign minister in 1998 said that the “government disassociates itself from any reward which has been offered in this regard and does not support it.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2022
If there’s a central theme to the collection, it’s that illness disassociates us from ourselves, even if we survive it.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2021
He added, “On a general level, Cryos disassociates itself from any form of serial sperm donation due to the importance of not exceeding national pregnancy quotas” in each country to which they send sperm.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2021
Such a temper as this naturally disassociates them from reality and makes them contemptuous of contradictory experiences.
From Modern Religious Cults and Movements by Gaius Glenn Atkins
"It has truly disassociated us from the impact of our words."
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025
Critics have accused the family of using its philanthropy to whitewash its business practices, and museums such as the Louvre in Paris and the National Portrait Gallery in London have disassociated themselves from the family.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 22, 2024
But, as you detail, it's relatively new and cannot be disassociated from the history of the United States.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
She explored the Freudian idea of the double, she said, as the physical manifestation of a disassociated or split self.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
Most striking, perhaps, is the overwhelming evidence that implicit bias measures are disassociated from explicit bias measures.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
They can wield their power by disassociating with objectionable partners.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2022
While the resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly, Iran - a member of the organisation - said it was disassociating itself from the text.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2022
The opposite — disassociating from losing teams — is known as “cutting off reflected failure.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2021
We take fatherhood very seriously, calling out bad dads and disassociating ourselves from deadbeats.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2020
Finally, he began to prepare the moderate Whigs for peace by presenting the economic considerations and disassociating Marlborough from the Queen's and the ministry's "business of peace."
From A Short Narrative of the Life and Actions of His Grace John, D. of Marlborogh by Daniel Defoe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
