separation

American  

[sep-uh-rey-shuhn] / ˌsɛp əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

separations plural

1. an act or instance of separating or the state of being separated.

2. a place, line, or point of parting.

3. a gap, hole, rent, or the like.

4. something that separates or divides.

5. Law.

   1. cessation of conjugal cohabitation, as by mutual consent.

   2. judicial separation.

6. Aerospace. the time or act of releasing a burned-out stage of a rocket or missile from the remainder.

7. Photography. separation negative.

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separation British  

/ ˌsɛpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of separating or state of being separated

2. the place or line where a separation is made

3. a gap that separates

4. family law the cessation of cohabitation between a man and wife, either by mutual agreement or under a decree of a court Compare judicial separation divorce

5. 1. the act of jettisoning a burnt-out stage of a multistage rocket

   2. the instant at which such a stage is jettisoned

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonseparation
  noun
• preseparation
  noun
• reseparation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• separations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of separation

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin sēparātiōn- (stem of sēparātiō ), equivalent to sēparāt ( us ) separate + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

When two things that were together come apart, it's a separation, whether they're the two halves of your Oreo or a married couple splitting up. If you leave your beloved cat to go to college, it's a separation — the two of you are parting ways, at least for a little while. The root is the Latin word separare, which means "to pull apart." A separation from someone you care about can be hard, but the trickiest thing about separation is remembering how to spell it. One common trick is to keep in mind that there's "a rat" in the middle of the word.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

separation separations

There are lots of parallels between these two stories: family members getting separated from loved ones, then turning to the courts, specifically to habeas corpus petitions, to claim that the separation is unlawful.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

Neither of the stars have publicly addressed their separation on social media.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The analysis revealed a clear separation between the quantity of collagen and the quality of its organization.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

SpaceX will aspire the next time around to execute a launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn and landing burn of the booster offshore without hiccups.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

Under this scheme, gene replication starts with the separation of its two identical chains.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

And just a few weeks ago, civil rights lawyers joined with parents’ and children’s advocates to bring landmark class-action litigation to end illegal family separations.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

The membranes could also benefit pharmaceutical production, where highly accurate separations are critical for product quality and manufacturing efficiency.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026

“This is one of the more important industrial separations, not because it is dramatic, but because it makes sense,” says The Edge research founder Jim Osman.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

This has been the case since the dawn of mobile devices and algorithmic personalization, but forced separations may have turned curt, unexplained goodbyes into a perceived relationship norm.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

It was too heartbreaking to live with so many separations.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Related Words

• departure
• disengagement
• dissolution
• divorce
• estrangement
• partition
• segregation
• split