segregate

American  

[seg-ri-geyt, seg-ri-git, -geyt] / ˈsɛg rɪˌgeɪt, ˈsɛg rɪ gɪt, -ˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

segregated, segregating

1. to separate or set apart from others or from the main body or group; isolate.

   to segregate exceptional children; to segregate hardened criminals.

   Antonyms:

   integrate

2. to require, by law or custom, the separation of (an ethnic, racial, religious, or other minority group) from the dominant majority.

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verb (used without object)

segregated, segregating

1. to separate, withdraw, or go apart; separate from the main body and collect in one place; become segregated.

2. to practice, require, or enforce segregation, especially racial segregation.

3. Genetics. (of allelic genes) to separate during meiosis.

noun

1. a segregated thing, person, or group.

segregate British  

/ ˈsɛɡrɪɡəbəl, ˈsɛɡrɪˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. to set or be set apart from others or from the main group

2. (tr) to impose segregation on (a racial or minority group)

3. genetics metallurgy to undergo or cause to undergo segregation

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Other Word Forms

• nonsegregable
  adjective
• nonsegregative
  adjective
• resegregate
  verb
• segregable
  adjective
• segregative
  adjective
• segregator
  noun
• unsegregable
  adjective
• unsegregating
  adjective
• unsegregative
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of segregate

1400–50 in sense “segregated”; 1535–45 as transitive v.; late Middle English segregat < Latin sēgregātus (past participle of sēgregāre to part from the flock), equivalent to sē- se- + greg- (stem of grex flock) + -ātus -ate ¹; see gregarious

Explanation

To separate people by race or religion is to segregate them. In general, the word segregate means to separate one type of thing from another. In the United States, the practice of segregating blacks from whites in public schools and public places was common in the South until the 1960s. Because of this, people don't even like to use the word segregate in its neutral sense. But you could rightly say that new bicycle lanes are designed to segregate bikes from auto traffic.

Example Sentences

In the Times on 9 November 2016, an article announced: “Islamist School Can Segregate Boys and Girls.”

From The Guardian • Oct. 18, 2018

Entrust, based in Oakland, Calif., says its lead custodians are Provident Trust in Las Vegas and Kingdom Trust in Murray, Ky. Segregate alternative assets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2012

Indiscriminate isolation he calls Separate Breeding, while discriminate isolation he calls Segregate Breeding.

From Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol 3 of 3) Post-Darwinian Questions: Isolation and Physiological Selection by Romanes, George John

Related Words

• disconnect
• divide
• insulate
• isolate
• sequester
• single out