dissociate
Americanverb (used with object)
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dissociates,
present (3rd person singular)
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dissociated,
past participle, past
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dissociating
present participle
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to break the association of; separate.
The organization issued a statement dissociating itself from the violent protests.
It’s difficult for me to dissociate cranberries from Thanksgiving.
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Psychiatry.
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to cause (certain mental processes or parts of the personality) to become separated from the main part of a person's consciousness as a result of trauma or mental illness.
To avoid fear or pain, the victim may dissociate the memory of the place, circumstances, or feelings related to the incident.
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to cause (a person) to undergo this kind of internal split.
He may be so dissociated from his feelings that he can’t rely on them as a clue to whom to trust.
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Chemistry.
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to cause (a complex substance) to resolve or decompose into its simpler constituents as a result of a change in physical conditions.
UV radiation dissociates NO2 into NO (nitrogen monoxide) and O (atomic oxygen).
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to cause (a constituent of a complex substance) to separate from others in this way.
Within hours, the oxygen became dissociated from the hemoglobin of the blood clot.
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to cause (the molecules of an electrolyte) to separate into their constituent atoms.
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verb (used without object)
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dissociates,
present (3rd person singular)
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dissociated,
past participle, past
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dissociating
present participle
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to end or break an association; disconnect or become disconnected.
Users tend to dissociate from websites that require them to fill out a form.
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Psychiatry. to undergo the splitting off of certain mental processes from the main part of one’s consciousness as a result of trauma or mental illness.
As a child she learned to dissociate from the pain of abandonment.
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Chemistry.
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(of a complex substance) to resolve or decompose reversibly into its simpler constituents as a result of a change in physical conditions.
Under great heat, water dissociates into hydrogen and oxygen.
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(of a constituent) to become separated from the other constituents of a complex substance in this way.
At this point in the process, subunits of the protein dissociate from each other and from the receptor.
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(of the molecules of an electrolyte) to separate into their constituent atoms.
Strong electrolytes dissociate completely, leaving only individual ions in the solution with virtually no intact molecules.
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verb
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to break or cause to break the association between (people, organizations, etc)
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(tr) to regard or treat as separate or unconnected
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to undergo or subject to dissociation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dissociatesimple
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dissociatessimple
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have dissociatedperfect
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has dissociatedperfect
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am dissociatingprogressive
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are dissociatingprogressive
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is dissociatingprogressive
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have been dissociatingperfect progressive
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has been dissociatingperfect progressive
Past
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dissociatedsimple
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had dissociatedperfect
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was dissociatingprogressive
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were dissociatingprogressive
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had been dissociatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dissociate
First recorded in 1605–15; dis- 1 + (as)sociate, modeled on Latin dissociātus “divided,” past participle of dissociāre “to divide, sever”
Explanation
To dissociate is to break apart from someone, such as an employee leaving a business or a spouse leaving a marriage. Dissociate is the opposite of associate. It comes from the Latin dissociare, which means basically "to disunite." To dissociate is to stop associating with someone. If a relationship ends, the two people are dissociated from one another. When you see the word dissociate, think "break-up."
Vocabulary lists containing dissociate
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.
See Examples For:
Mazin: If you make me dissociate, I’m watching.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025
Because of this, only two of the three acid groups in the citric acid dissociate.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2024
"You have to dissociate yourself. More or less, you are robotic. This is the way you have to behave, but inside, you are deeply injured. You are seeing the nation injured."
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2024
She has no trouble watching the finished product though — she can even dissociate and just watch it as a film.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
But the rope dragged me, wobbling and balancing, so rapidly I couldn't hope to dissociate myself from it halfway.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
The H+ ion dissociates from the hemoglobin and binds to the bicarbonate ion.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The H+ dissociates from hemoglobin and combines with bicarbonate to form carbonic acid with the help of carbonic anhydrase, which further catalyzes the reaction to convert carbonic acid back into carbon dioxide and water.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
When heated, iodine vapor dissociates according to this equation:
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
You can now define a salt as a substance that, when dissolved in water, dissociates into ions other than H+ or OH–.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
He dissociates such conventional grouping of ideas as Glory, Justice, Decadence.
From Unicorns by James Huneker
When people are more dissociated, “they may describe feeling numb, being on ‘autopilot,’ ” Brand says.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
And Moss-Bachrach brings a menacing edge of dissociated weirdness to Sal, the character John Cazale played as a neighborhood space alien.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
In previous interviews, the musician has spoken of how she dissociated from Lady Gaga.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
In his scheme, the qubits would consist not of atoms, but those special anyon pairs, which can capture quantum information in their dissociated electrons.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 20, 2023
State and local affiliates dissociated from the National and formed new groups.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
"If you can trick gold into dissociating oxygen, it can actually become a very effective catalyst for certain reactions," Montemore said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
There was crying, complaining, dissociating and even laughing on those couches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
"She's created popularity by dissociating herself from the party's stagnant image," he says.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
It was still early days when I found myself mildly dissociating as my blender chugged away on what would become a pan of brownies fashioned from only two ingredients.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2020
At its annual convention in Washington, DC, a group of women offered a resolution officially dissociating the group from Stanton and The Woman's Bible.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
