segregation

American  

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

noun

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

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

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

Following World War II, Randolph co-founded the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation, which encouraged men to refuse to register or serve in the armed forces.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025

Segregation and white flight, on the other hand, he described as like a painkiller, “providing instant relief for families looking to avoid diversity, but also plaguing them with long-term side effects.”

From Seattle Times • May 29, 2023

The case concerned 27 American-born men of Japanese ancestry, interned nearby at the Tule Lake Segregation Center.

From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2022

The writer is co-director of Mapping Segregation in Washington DC.

From Washington Post • Feb. 12, 2021

Segregation laws were proposed as part of a deliberate and strategic effort to deflect anger and hostility that had been brewing against the white elite away from them and toward African Americans.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• apartheid
• discrimination
• isolation
• partition