desegregate

American  

[dee-seg-ri-geyt] / diˈsɛg rɪˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

desegregated, desegregating

1. to eliminate racial segregation in.

   to desegregate all schools.

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verb (used without object)

desegregated, desegregating

1. to eliminate racial segregation; to integrate at an institutional level members of different communities without regard to skin color.

desegregate British  

/ diːˈsɛɡrɪˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. to end racial segregation in (a school or other public institution)

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Other Word Forms

• desegregation noun
• desegregationist noun

Etymology

Origin of desegregate

First recorded in 1950–55; de- + segregate

Example Sentences

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

The sit-ins to desegregate restaurants and cafeterias that were now taking place across the South had originated in Greensboro.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

• integrate