separate

[ verb sep-uh-reyt; adjective, noun sep-er-it ]

/ verb ˈsɛp əˌreɪt; adjective, noun ˈsɛp ər ɪt /

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See synonyms for: separate / separated / separates / separating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), sep·a·rat·ed, sep·a·rat·ing.

to keep apart or divide, as by an intervening barrier or space: to separate two fields by a fence.

to put, bring, or force apart; part: to separate two fighting boys.

to set apart; disconnect; dissociate: to separate church and state.

to remove or sever from association, service, etc., especially legally or formally: He was separated from the army right after V-E Day.

to sort, part, divide, or disperse (an assemblage, mass, compound, etc.), as into individual units, components, or elements.

to take by parting or dividing; extract (usually followed by from or out): to separate metal from ore.

Mathematics. to write (the variables of a differential equation) in a form in which the differentials of the independent and dependent variables are, respectively, functions of these variables alone: We can separate the variables to solve the equation.Compare separation of variables.

verb (used without object), sep·a·rat·ed, sep·a·rat·ing.

to part company; withdraw from personal association (often followed by from): to separate from a church.

(of a married pair) to stop living together but without getting a divorce.

to draw or come apart; become divided, disconnected, or detached.

to become parted from a mass or compound: Cream separates from milk.

to take or go in different directions: We have to separate at the crossroad.

adjective

detached, disconnected, or disjoined.

unconnected; distinct; unique: two separate questions.

being or standing apart; distant or dispersed: two separate houses; The desert has widely separate oases.

existing or maintained independently: separate organizations.

individual or particular: each separate item.

not shared; individual or private: separate checks; separate rooms.

(sometimes initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a church or other organization no longer associated with the original or parent organization.

noun

Usually separates. women's outer garments that may be worn in combination with a variety of others to make different ensembles, as matching and contrasting blouses, skirts, and sweaters.

offprint (def. 1).

a bibliographical unit, as an article, chapter, or other portion of a larger work, printed from the same type but issued separately, sometimes with additional pages.

SYNONYMS FOR separate

1, 2 sever, sunder, split.

3 disjoin, disengage.

13 unattached, severed, discrete.

15 secluded, isolated.

16 independent.

See synonyms for separate on Thesaurus.com

ANTONYMS FOR separate

1-3 unite, connect.

See antonyms for separate on Thesaurus.com

QUIZZES

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Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of separate

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (noun and adjective), from Latin sēparātus (past participle of sēparāre), equivalent to sē-se- + par(āre) “to furnish, produce, obtain,” + -ātus;see prepare -ate¹

synonym study for separate

1, 2. Separate, divide imply a putting apart or keeping apart of things from each other. To separate is to remove from each other things previously associated: to separate a mother from her children. To divide is to split or break up carefully according to measurement, rule, or plan: to divide a cake into equal parts.

OTHER WORDS FROM separate

sep·a·rate·ly, adverbsep·a·rate·ness, nounnon·sep·a·rat·ing, adjectivepre·sep·a·rate, verb (used with object), pre·sep·a·rat·ed, pre·sep·a·rat·ing.

re·sep·a·rate, verb, re·sep·a·rat·ed, re·sep·a·rat·ing.un·sep·a·rate, adjectiveun·sep·a·rate·ly, adverbun·sep·a·rate·ness, nounun·sep·a·rat·ed, adjectiveun·sep·a·rat·ing, adjectivewell-sep·a·rat·ed, adjective

Words nearby separate

SEPA, sepal, sepaloid, -sepalous, separable, separate, separate but equal, separates, separate school, separate the men from the boys, separate the sheep from the goats

Example sentences from the Web for separate

We could have looped back, but instead followed a separate trail to Pounds Hollow Lake.
A day’s drive from Chicago, exploring a very different Illinois|Carson Vaughan|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Here again, that only serves to further separate the haves from the have-nots.
Don’t hate the vaccine tourists, hate the vaccine game|Jen Kirby|February 12, 2021|Vox
The two were separated, and Ujiri eventually joined the team and did a TV interview.
Raptors president, sheriff’s deputy drop lawsuits over shoving incident at NBA Finals|Cindy Boren|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
At a time when we need whatever unity we can find and sports might be one place to find it, the anthem could be a two-minute span when we agree that we’re all Americans, that we should be together rather than separate.
The pregame national anthem — in all its roiling contradictions — still has something to offer|Barry Svrluga|February 11, 2021|Washington Post

The result was the Ignite, a separate team of elite prospects, surrounded by handpicked veterans, that has no affiliation with an NBA franchise.
An NBA experiment lets draft prospects skip college, stay home and get paid to play|Michael Lee|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
There is, however, a separate wing of AQAP designed to inspire their followers to conduct attacks against the West.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
My younger, straighter-than-an-arrow son was stopped and arrested in two separate jurisdictions a few years ago.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?|Goldie Taylor|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We separate the search for justice from the search for truth at our peril.
Bill de Blasio’s Tea Party Problem|Will Cain|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I never felt that culture and the arts were separate from politics,” he says.
DJ Spooky Wants You To Question Everything You Know About Music, Technology, and Philosophy|Oliver Jones|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“She was hot-headed, had her own way of doing things,” Gill said—and so, he left to form a separate militia group.
Open-Carry Militia Mom ‘Murders’ Family|Brandy Zadrozny|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was an error not to separate borrowing entirely from monetary issues.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
He devoured it whole with a kind of visual gulp—a flash; the entire meaning first, then lines, then separate words.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
By a device resorted to in each separate case to help make a more vivid First Impression.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
It has one separate room where poor Spanish women are treated, which generally has from twelve to twenty women.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Therefore, every piece had its own separate voice in exact proportion to the amount of trouble spent upon it.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for separate

separate

verb (ˈsɛpəˌreɪt)

(tr) to act as a barrier betweena range of mountains separates the two countries

to put or force or be put or forced apart

to part or be parted from a mass or group

(tr) to discriminate betweento separate the men from the boys

to divide or be divided into component parts; sort or be sorted

to sever or be severed

(intr) (of a married couple) to cease living together by mutual agreement or after obtaining a decree of judicial separation

adjective (ˈsɛprɪt, ˈsɛpərɪt)

existing or considered independentlya separate problem

disunited or apart

set apart from the main body or mass

distinct, individual, or particular

solitary or withdrawn

(sometimes capital) designating or relating to a Church or similar institution that has ceased to have associations with an original parent organization

Derived forms of separate

separately, adverbseparateness, noun

Word Origin for separate

C15: from Latin sēparāre, from sē- apart + parāre to obtain

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

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separate

verb (used with object), sep·a·rat·ed, sep·a·rat·ing.