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
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has been desegregatingperfect progressive
Past
-
desegregatedsimple
-
had desegregatedperfect
-
was desegregatingprogressive
-
were desegregatingprogressive
-
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
Chapter 28: The Cold War Era
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Little Rock Girl 1957
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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.
See Examples For:
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
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
Board, the court had invalidated legislation in order to demand that states desegregate.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2023
As governor, he withheld law enforcement protection for the Freedom Riders—the black and white college students and activists who traveled south in the early 1960s to desegregate public facilities in recognition of new federal laws.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Whether or not Lovett ever caves in to the pickets and desegregates, the diocese has already been bitterly divided by the situation, and it may take years for the ill will to dissolve.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sure enough, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare last month threatened to withhold federal funds from Ohio's Antioch College unless the school desegregates its blacks-only Afro-American Studies Institute, which opened last fall.
From Time Magazine Archive
As a young man, he attended a newly desegregated high school in Terre Haute and was friendly with students of all colors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
This year marks 75 years since the U.S. military desegregated, and the numbers still aren’t where they should be, according to the panel of prestigious Black officers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2023
It was not until 1948 that the armed forces were desegregated though an executive order issued by President Harry S. Truman, although racial strife in the services continued through the Cold War and beyond.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
“Whoa, we just desegregated Arlington,” one supporter said to another in the boardroom.
From Slate ● May 12, 2023
The day before the election, a downtown art movie theater had its first desegregated screening.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
And the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare used the leverage those funds provided to press schools into desegregating.
From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2025
And desegregating lunch counters and restaurants because that's what we're best at.
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2024
He also liked the idea of desegregating queer history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
The university later celebrated Foster’s legacy, her role in desegregating the institution and her bravery.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2022
As the new minister at the Church of Christ on Texas and Clements streets on the Southside, he undertook the challenge of desegregating the schools and obliterating the boundary of the railroad tracks.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
