segregation

[seg-ri-gey-shuhn]

noun

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

/ 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

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of segregation¹

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”; segregate ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

In building the case, Martin prompted the AI to study Boston, its school system’s history of segregation, plus details on real schools’ test scores and reputations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And when one child says she’s sorry that he and other Black Americans faced segregation and discrimination, Washington thanks her for her sympathy but assures the child, who is white, that she’s done nothing wrong.

Read more on Salon

They set out to create twisted public sculptures in enduring bronze that would fabricate a “noble” legacy to reinforce the modern white supremacy of Jim Crow’s racial segregation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It seems some of Lee's influences were British, even if her roots were in Monroeville, Alabama at a time of strict segregation, when schools, churches and restaurants were divided on race lines.

Read more on BBC

A new "self-identity" law has sparked controversy across Hungary, with critics accusing it of encouraging the segregation of minority communities, such as Roma people, with exclusionary housing regulations.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• apartheid 
• discrimination 
• isolation 
• partition