separation

American  

[sep-uh-ray-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

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Etymology

Origin of separation

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

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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

The exes married in 2007 and announced their separation in 2016.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

The BBC's Nadine Yousif takes us on a journey through Alberta to talk to both supporters and opponents of separation about their hopes for the country's future.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

While AI helps cut the cost of development, Borges noted that many businesses have a difficult time building tools customized for their clients, given the separation between data, workflows and eventual execution.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

BofA says it is “unreservedly upbeat” on the Clarion acquisition and separation process of Taylor & Francis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

In this case the separation, shown in Fig.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

There's only one drawback: "long separations from the family during assignments," he says from Kosovo, where he is helping install a wind farm.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to maintain the status quo of their employment pending arbitration, and to prevent Meta from completing their separations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

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

The separations hadn’t been good for us, but they hadn’t hurt us that much either.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

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Related Words

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

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