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separate

American  

[sep-uh-rayt, sep-er-it] / ˈsɛp əˌreɪt, ˈsɛp ər ɪt /

verb (used with object)

• separates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• separated,
  past participle,  past
• separating
  present participle

1. 

   to keep apart or divide, as by an intervening barrier or space.

   to separate two fields by a fence.

   Synonyms:

   split, sunder, sever

   Antonyms:

   connect, unite

2. to put, bring, or force apart; part.

   to separate two fighting boys.

   Synonyms:

   split, sunder, sever

   Antonyms:

   connect, unite

3. to set apart; disconnect; dissociate.

   to separate church and state.

   Synonyms:

   disengage, disjoin

   Antonyms:

   connect, unite

4. to remove or sever from association, service, etc., especially legally or formally.

   He was separated from the army right after V-E Day.

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

6. to take by parting or dividing; extract (usually followed by from orout ).

   to separate metal from ore.

7. 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.

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verb (used without object)

• separates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• separated,
  past participle,  past
• separating
  present participle

1. to part company; withdraw from personal association (often followed byfrom ).

   to separate from a church.

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

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

4. to become parted from a mass or compound.

   Cream separates from milk.

5. to take or go in different directions.

   We have to separate at the crossroad.

adjective

1. detached, disconnected, or disjoined.

   Synonyms:

   discrete, unattached

2. unconnected; distinct; unique.

   two separate questions.

3. being or standing apart; distant or dispersed.

   two separate houses;

   The desert has widely separate oases.

   Synonyms:

   isolated, secluded

4. existing or maintained independently.

   separate organizations.

   Synonyms:

   independent

5. individual or particular.

   each separate item.

6. not shared; individual or private.

   separate checks;

   separate rooms.

7. Sometimes Separate noting or relating to a church or other organization no longer associated with the original or parent organization.

noun

1. 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.

2. offprint.

3. 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.

separate British  

verb

1. (tr) to act as a barrier between

   a range of mountains separates the two countries

2. to put or force or be put or forced apart

3. to part or be parted from a mass or group

4. (tr) to discriminate between

   to separate the men from the boys

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

6. to sever or be severed

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

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adjective

1. existing or considered independently

   a separate problem

2. disunited or apart

3. set apart from the main body or mass

4. distinct, individual, or particular

5. solitary or withdrawn

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

Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

• separateness
  noun
• unseparateness
  noun
• reseparate
  verb
• preseparate
  verb (used with object)
• nonseparating
  adjective
• unseparate
  adjective
• unseparated
  adjective
• unseparating
  adjective
• well-separated
  adjective
• separately
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• separating
  present
• separated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• separate
  simple
• separates
  simple
• have separated
  perfect
• has separated
  perfect
• am separating
  progressive
• are separating
  progressive
• is separating
  progressive
• have been separating
  perfect progressive
• has been separating
  perfect progressive

Past

• separated
  simple
• had separated
  perfect
• was separating
  progressive
• were separating
  progressive
• had been separating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will separate
  simple
• will have separated
  perfect
• will be separating
  progressive
• will have been separating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of separate

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

Explanation

Things that are separate are kept apart from other things. A married couple heading for divorce might eat breakfast at separate tables. You can use the adjective separate to describe something that is thought of as different or not related to other things. The adjective is from the Latin prefix se- "apart" plus parare "to prepare." Separate is also used as a verb, pronounced "SEP-uh-rate." Separate is one of the most commonly misspelled words, so beware of the erroneous spelling, seperate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

separate separates separated separating

"We are also exploring including a separate audio-described tour as part of the exhibition's app-based audio guide."

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Four others from the Bryant pit crew were also fined and put on probation because of their participation in a separate altercation after the conclusion of the second heat race at Martinsville.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents continued separate talks Wednesday with Britain's Northern Ireland minister Chris Bryant at Hillsborough Castle, west of Belfast, after earlier rounds failed to produce a breakthrough.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Lilly, which has the lead in the weight-loss-drug market, is also testing eloralintide as a stand-alone drug in separate late-stage studies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

A bit deeper in, a bright green dragon mask lay on the floor in two separate pieces, split by the otherwise completely useless sword.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

In June, business applications from Gen Z customers grew disproportionately from a year earlier, Bowley said, as did payments to open limited-liability companies, a business structure that separates personal and financial assets and liabilities.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

Sliced Bread separates science fact from the marketing fiction.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

Liquid chromatography separates the many different chemicals in a mixture so that researchers can study them individually.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Gap that separates Europe from North America and is the principal Russian submarine route to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Before I know what I’m doing, I’m three-quarters of the way across the wide strip of green that separates my driveway from Jupe's.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

It separated the company into five units to facilitate potential sales of noncore units, including Boots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

The researchers also separated MHWs into two broad categories.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Euro '96 was the first European Championship staged after Czechoslovakia separated - forming the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

The new stops designed to accommodate bikes and buses are about five inches off the ground and separated from the road by a curb.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

If he and Pili had never been separated and never put into the System, would Danny have ever known magic was real?

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

“With our board’s approval we are now one step closer to our goal of separating our Knicks and Rangers businesses into two distinct public companies,” Dolan said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Once surgeons started using robots for more of the precision work of cutting and separating tissue, though, Beane found residents got 10 to 20 times less hands-on practice during such procedures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Paul Turner of Birmingham is separating himself from all City Section receivers with his big-play catching ability.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

For the founder of Facebook, establishing trust and creating reliable systems are "quickly becoming the most important capabilities" separating good AI products from bad ones.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

There was a wooden partition separating the entryway from the rest of the house, with shelves covered in pictures and candles and phone chargers.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

Related Words

• autonomous
• different
• distinct
• diverse
• free
• independent
• particular
• single
• unique
• various