dissever
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to sever; separate.
-
to divide into parts.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to break off or become broken off
-
(tr) to divide up into parts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dissever
1250–1300; Middle English des ( s ) everen < Old French dessevrer < Late Latin dissēparāre, equivalent to Latin dis- dis- 1 + sēparāre to separate
Explanation
To dissever is to separate or divide something. If you spend too much time staring at screens, you might want to dissever yourself from technology and go camping this weekend. These days, the verb dissever is considered old-fashioned or primarily literary — you're more likely to use words like sever or detach. It can be useful if you need a more poetic way to talk about dividing things, though: "Don't go to Maine for the summer; I can't bear to dissever my heart from yours!" Dissever comes from a Latin root, separare, "to pull apart."
Vocabulary lists containing dissever
Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 2
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Chop Chop: Synonyms for "Cut"
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Selection Vocabulary 4, Unit 1
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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.
But the check is for a time—the gap and chasm does not dissever.
From Dante. An essay. To which is added a translation of De Monarchia. by R. W. (Richard William) Church
To open the mind to unreserved communication, is imbecility; to cover it with a vail, to dissever its internal workings from its external manifestations, is dissimulation and falsehood.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 8, January, 1851 by Various
Still shall the valour, love, and truth, That shone on Scotland's early youth, From Scotland ne'er dissever; The Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle stern Shall wave around her Wallace cairn, And bless the brave for ever!
From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume V. The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century by Charles Rogers
But all her childish reasoning could not dissever the two.
From Olive A Novel by G. Bowers
You attempt to live your life on one side only, to dissever that which was made for unity, and calamity comes to crush you.
From Morality as a Religion An exposition of some first principles by W. R. Washington Sullivan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
