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Showing results for secession. Search instead for sezession.
Synonyms

secession

American  
[si-sesh-uhn] / sɪˈsɛʃ ən /

noun

  1. an act or instance of seceding.

  2. (often initial capital letter) the withdrawal from the Union of 11 Southern states in the period 1860–61, which brought on the Civil War.

  3. (usually initial capital letter) a style of art in Germany and Austria concurrent with and related to Art Nouveau.

secession British  
/ sɪˈsɛʃən /

noun

  1. the act of seceding

  2. (often capital) the withdrawal in 1860–61 of 11 Southern states from the Union to form the Confederacy, precipitating the American Civil War

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
secession Cultural  

  1. The withdrawal from the United States of eleven southern states in 1860 and 1861. The seceding states formed a government, the Confederacy, in early 1861. Hostilities against the remaining United States, the Union, began in April 1861 (see Fort Sumter), and the Civil War followed.

Other Word Forms

  • nonsecession noun
  • nonsecessional adjective
  • secessional adjective
  • secessionism noun
  • secessionist noun

Etymology

Origin of secession

1525–35; < Latin sēcessiōn- (stem of sēcessiō ) withdrawal, equivalent to sēcess ( us ) (past participle of sēcēdere to secede; cession ) + -iōn- -ion

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.

Indulge a certain inner calm, then, when watching Canada’s secession politics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Downtown #Aden, where crowds have been calling for secession from #Yemen and solidarity with STC leader Aidarous Al Zubaidi.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2026

"To the uninformed American listener, the ongoing talks between Denmark and Greenland might have been construed as if Greenland's secession from Denmark was imminent," said Greenland specialist Mikaela Engell.

From Barron's • Jan. 13, 2026

Similarly, virtually every historian of the Civil War knows that slavery was the moving force for secession which led to the Civil War.

From Slate • Sep. 24, 2025

I turned that word secession around on my tongue for a while, then tossed the pin aside and picked up my Chicago Press & Tribune.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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.