segregation

American  

[seg-ri-gay-shuhn] / ˌsɛg rɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

• segregations
  plural

1. 

   the act or practice of segregating; a setting apart or separation of people or things from others or from the main body or group.

   gender segregation in some fundamentalist religions.

2. the institutional separation of an ethnic, racial, religious, or other minority group from the dominant majority.

3. the state or condition of being segregated, set apart, separated, or restricted to one group.

   Segregation on buses meant that the seats at the front were reserved for white passengers.

   the segregation of private clubs.

4. something segregated, or set apart.

5. Genetics. the separation of allelic genes into different gametes during meiosis.

---

segregation British  

/ ˌsɛɡrɪˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of segregating or state of being segregated

2. sociol the practice or policy of creating separate facilities within the same society for the use of a minority group

3. genetics the separation at meiosis of the two members of any pair of alleles into separate gametes See also Mendel's laws

4. metallurgy the process in which a component of an alloy or solid solution separates in small regions within the solid or on the solid's surface

---

segregation Cultural  

1. The policy and practice of imposing the separation of races. In the United States, the policy of segregation denied African-Americans their civil rights and provided inferior facilities and services for them, most noticeably in public schools (see Brown versus Board of Education), housing, and industry. (See integration, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and separate but equal.)

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antisegregation
  noun
• nonsegregation
  noun
• resegregation
  noun
• segregational
  adjective
• unsegregational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• segregations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of segregation

First recorded in 1545–55; from Late Latin sēgregātiōn-, stem of sēgregātiō, from sēgregāt(us) “separated” (past participle of sēgregāre “to part from the flock”; see segregate) + -iō -ion

Explanation

Segregation is a system that keeps different groups separate from each other, either through physical dividers or using social pressures and laws. The Latin root literally means “separated from the flock,” and splitting a big flock of sheep into smaller groups is segregation. For many decades in the United States, “separate but equal” was the phrase used to describe the unjust racial segregation of black people and white people. There are harmless types of segregation as well, like "the segregation of dog food and human food in your cupboards."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

segregation segregations

Gender segregation is standard practice for many Orthodox Jews but is forbidden in public places by the government of socially liberal Tel Aviv.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

In 1968, England were due to tour South Africa, a country then operating under a system of racial segregation known as apartheid.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

I grew up in tumultuous times, the 1960s, we pretty much grew up in segregation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

After all, slavery and segregation were legal for much of American history, and women were not protected from discrimination by the promise of “equal protection” in the 14th Amendment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Racial segregation had actually begun years earlier in the North, as an effort to prevent race-mixing and preserve racial hierarchy following the abolition of Northern slavery.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

The social segregations of “District 9” become filters when we leave the theater that allow us to see our own world in sharper focus.

From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2016

In these rocks it occurs both as disseminated grains, and as stringers, and large irregular masses which probably represent magmatic segregations.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by C. K. (Charles Kenneth) Leith

The same diagram equally well represents the pairings and segregations of chromosomes.

From Being Well-Born An Introduction to Eugenics by Michael F. Guyer

In England toleration has become an institution, and where Tory and Socialist, Bishop and Infidel, can all meet at the same dinner-table and spend an agreeable week-end together, there is no need for defensive segregations.

From First and Last Things by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

Our quasi-reasoning upon this subject applies to all segregations so far considered.

From The Book of the Damned by Charles Fort

Related Words

• apartheid
• discrimination
• isolation
• partition