segregation

American  

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

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.

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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

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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.)

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Other Word Forms

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

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”; segregate ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

Its strongest leaders spoke not only about the sins of segregation but also about the responsibilities of freedom, understanding that justice without moral renewal would leave communities politically visible but internally broken.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

And now, just shy of his 40th birthday, Coogler is an Oscar winner, for best original screenplay for horror period piece "Sinners," an unlikely mash-up of racial segregation, Southern blues and vampire-fueled gore.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

Although the cellular machinery responsible for chromosome segregation has remained highly conserved throughout evolution, the DNA found at centromeres changes surprisingly quickly.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

It is not discrimination, but rather, continuing to address the persisting harms of segregation, in schools and in communities.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

Though segregation and discrimination still prevail and still work a hardship, great strides have been made—strides that must give hope to every observer of the South.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

Related Words

• apartheid
• discrimination
• isolation
• partition