severed
Americanadjective
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separated from the whole or divided into parts, as by cutting or the like.
The severed cables belonged to two internet companies.
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(of ties or a relationship) broken off or dissolved.
One of the greatest tragedies we see in our work is the severed relationships between those in need and their family and friends.
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Law. (of an estate, titles of a statute, etc.) divided into parts.
A practice known as severed property, or split estates, allows developers to keep or obtain mineral rights underneath privately owned land.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of severed
Explanation
Something severed is cut off from its whole. A severed rope turns into two detached and individual pieces. In a severed relationship, people lose communication with one another. To be severed is to be separated completely. Think of a tree branch being cut away from its trunk, or a connection being broken between two friends. The word comes from the Latin separare, meaning "to separate or pull apart." The adjective can refer to physical objects, like ropes or limbs, or to relationships and ties, such as friendships or contracts.
Vocabulary lists containing severed
Phineas Gage
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Compound Fracture
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The Black Girl Survives in This One
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His alarming discovery is the hub around which an assortment of related mysteries swirl, including what and who characters like Patricia Arquette’s Harmony Cobel are to Lumon and the Severed floor’s workers.
From Salon • Jan. 17, 2025
Indie studios and developers are also upping the ante, with games like Severed Steel and HyperDot being influenced by research about and feedback from disabled players.
From The Verge • Nov. 1, 2021
Severed tree limbs were strewn about yards and roadways and ribbons of loose utility lines draped the otherwise empty streets.
From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2020
Severed pigeon heads and that soon-to-be iconic tongue click notwithstanding, “Charlie lives in a different world,” muses Shapiro.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2018
Severed from that reality, they would be nothing.
From Browning as a Philosophical and Religious Teacher by Jones, Henry, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
