segregation

American  

[seg-ri-gey-shuhn] / ˌsɛg rɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

• segregations
  plural

1. the act or practice of segregating; a setting apart or separation of people or things from others or from the main body or group.

   gender segregation in some fundamentalist religions.

2. the institutional separation of an ethnic, racial, religious, or other minority group from the dominant majority.

3. the state or condition of being segregated, set apart, separated, or restricted to one group.

   Segregation on buses meant that the seats at the front were reserved for white passengers.

   the segregation of private clubs.

4. something segregated, or set apart.

5. Genetics. the separation of allelic genes into different gametes during meiosis.

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segregation British  

/ ˌsɛɡrɪˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of segregating or state of being segregated

2. sociol the practice or policy of creating separate facilities within the same society for the use of a minority group

3. genetics the separation at meiosis of the two members of any pair of alleles into separate gametes See also Mendel's laws

4. metallurgy the process in which a component of an alloy or solid solution separates in small regions within the solid or on the solid's surface

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segregation Cultural  

1. The policy and practice of imposing the separation of races. In the United States, the policy of segregation denied African-Americans their civil rights and provided inferior facilities and services for them, most noticeably in public schools (see Brown versus Board of Education), housing, and industry. (See integration, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and separate but equal.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antisegregation
  noun
• nonsegregation
  noun
• resegregation
  noun
• segregational
  adjective
• unsegregational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• segregations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of segregation

First recorded in 1545–55; from Late Latin sēgregātiōn-, stem of sēgregātiō, from sēgregāt(us) “separated” (past participle of sēgregāre “to part from the flock”; see segregate) + -iō -ion

Explanation

Segregation is a system that keeps different groups separate from each other, either through physical dividers or using social pressures and laws. The Latin root literally means “separated from the flock,” and splitting a big flock of sheep into smaller groups is segregation. For many decades in the United States, “separate but equal” was the phrase used to describe the unjust racial segregation of black people and white people. There are harmless types of segregation as well, like "the segregation of dog food and human food in your cupboards."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

segregation segregations

One state he found surprising was Alabama, a place many in the UK associate with racial segregation and the struggle for civil rights as well as its pioneering space exploration programmes.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

After all, slavery and segregation were legal for much of American history, and women were not protected from discrimination by the promise of “equal protection” in the 14th Amendment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

The elections board meets in a building near the historic site where four A&T students launched the sit-in movement to protest racial segregation in 1960.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026

Their earlier work, published in Physical Review D, examined how mass segregation influences the wide range of dark matter core densities observed in dwarf galaxies.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

“Remember, the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools stands neither for segregation nor integration, but for education,” Mrs. Brewer said.

From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine

The social segregations of “District 9” become filters when we leave the theater that allow us to see our own world in sharper focus.

From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2016

Magnetites containing titanium, which prevents their use at the present time, are known in many parts of the world as segregations in basic igneous rocks.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by C. K. (Charles Kenneth) Leith

Pratt as basic segregations from an igneous magma.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various

Certain minerals, such as magnetite, ilmenite, spinel, corundum, etc., are often found as primary segregations within the mass of igneous rock.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by C. K. (Charles Kenneth) Leith

But even in America I think the trend of things is away from separations and segregations and new starts, and towards more comprehensive and graduated methods of development.

From First and Last Things by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

Related Words

• apartheid
• discrimination
• isolation
• partition