desegregate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
desegregatesimple
-
desegregatessimple
-
have desegregatedperfect
-
has desegregatedperfect
-
am desegregatingprogressive
-
are desegregatingprogressive
-
is desegregatingprogressive
-
have been desegregatingperfect progressive
-
has been desegregatingperfect progressive
Past
-
desegregatedsimple
-
had desegregatedperfect
-
was desegregatingprogressive
-
were desegregatingprogressive
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had been desegregatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of desegregate
Explanation
To desegregate is to stop separating groups of people by race, religion, or ethnicity. When a city desegregates its schools, it makes sure that all schools have racially diverse populations. The verb desegregate is the opposite of segregate, or "separate by race or religion." Both words are often used in connection with the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. In 1954, the Brown v Board of Education case desegregated public schools in the U.S., ruling that separate publicly funded schools for black and white students were unconstitutional.
Vocabulary lists containing desegregate
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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.
Yvonne Lee Odom helped desegregate public schools in the 1960s, becoming the first black student to attend public school in Delray Beach, Florida.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
Since his appointment in 2017, Saudi Arabia has reined in its religious police, lifted a ban on women driving, allowed restaurants and cafes to desegregate by gender and promoted cinema and music events.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026
At 14, she was one of the so-called Clinton 12, the first Black students to desegregate a Southern public school following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2025
When Southern governors refused to desegregate schools during Jim Crow is now widely understood as one of the most shameful periods in our history.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2025
It was only two years earlier, in January of 1962, that Birmingham’s Bull Connor had refused to desegregate the city’s public facilities.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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.
