disunite

American  

[dis-yoo-nahyt] / ˌdɪs yuˈnaɪt /

verb (used with object)

disunited, disuniting

1. to sever the union of; separate; disjoin.

2. to set at variance; alienate.

   The issue disunited the party members.

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verb (used without object)

disunited, disuniting

1. to part; fall apart.

disunite British  

/ ˌdɪsjʊˈnaɪt /

verb

1. to separate or become separate; disrupt

2. (tr) to set at variance; estrange

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Other Word Forms

• disunion noun
• disuniter noun

Etymology

Origin of disunite

First recorded in 1550–60; dis- ¹ + unite ¹

Example Sentences

After so long spent united by shared suffering, Rock argues – no, he preaches – that black people must disunite in order to disown the criminal minority among them.

From The Guardian • May 24, 2012

Moscow dismissed it as an attempt "to disunite the Arab countries."

From Time Magazine Archive

Every Indian leader except Mohandas Gandhi had agreed that they could not unite, but could not agree how to disunite.

From Time Magazine Archive

"There are far more things that unite Britain and Russia," said Georgy Malenkov at an official dinner in Glasgow later, "than things that disunite us."

From Time Magazine Archive

If those states should disunite from the other states, for not indulging them in the temporary continuance of this traffic, they might solicit and obtain aid from foreign powers....

From The Journal of Negro History, Volume 3, 1918 by Various