detach

[ dih-tach ]

See synonyms for detach on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to unfasten and separate; disengage; disunite.
Military. to send away (a regiment, ship, etc.) on a special mission.

Origin of detach

1470–80; <Middle French détacher,Old French destachier;see dis-¹, attach

Other words from detach

de·tach·a·ble, adjective
de·tach·a·bil·i·ty, noun
de·tach·a·bly, adverb
de·tach·er, noun
non·de·tach·a·bil·i·ty, noun
non·de·tach·a·ble, adjective
pre·de·tach, verb (used with object)
self-de·tach·ing, adjective
un·de·tach·a·ble, adjective

Words Nearby detach

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use detach in a sentence

Yet here, as in so many other places, we have let our fears detach from reality—even more than our selfies have detached from it.
In Defense of the Selfie, Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year | James Poulos | November 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
“You have to be strong and detach yourself from what could happen,” Giffords told me last fall.
Gabrielle Giffords' Marriage to Astronaut Mark E. Kelly | Sandra McElwaine | January 9, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Even if we were conscious of the manipulation, it was very hard to detach ourselves from that because we were so burned out.
A French Hero's Tale of Survival | Eric Pape | September 21, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
To fix on any one stage in such an evolution, detach it, affirm it, is to wrest a true scripture to its destruction.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel Conway
It was a difficult matter to detach the old diplomat from the circle surrounding him, but Varney succeeded at length.
The Weight of the Crown | Fred M. White

Even the entrance of Rorie, and the beginning of our meal, did not detach him from his train of thought beyond a moment.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI | Robert Louis Stevenson
I have expressed the idea in other words in order to detach the thoughts of my readers from the traditional false interpretation.
My Religion | Leo Tolstoy
If the Dons detach their fleet out of the Mediterranean, we can do the same—however, that is distant.
The Life of Nelson, Vol. I (of 2) | A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

British Dictionary definitions for detach

detach

/ (dɪˈtætʃ) /

verb(tr)

to disengage and separate or remove, as by pulling; unfasten; disconnect
military to separate (a small unit) from a larger, esp for a special assignment

Origin of detach

C17: from Old French destachier, from des- dis- 1 + attachier to attach

Derived forms of detach

detachable, adjective
detachability, noun
detacher, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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