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.

OTHER WORDS 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

OPPOSITES FOR separate

1-3 unite, connect.

See antonyms for separate on Thesaurus.com

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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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use separate in a sentence

It also announced a separate, $515 million crypto-focused fund back in April of this year, its second such vehicle.
A16z is now managing $16.5 billion, after announcing two new funds|Natasha Mascarenhas|November 20, 2020|TechCrunch
This department is separate and independent from the news department.
Bogus crowd photos at 'Million MAGA March’ and other news literacy lessons|Valerie Strauss|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
Located north-west of Munich in a town called Wallenhausen, when completed the building will have five separate apartments and a total square footage of 4,090.
A 3D Printed Apartment Building Is Going Up in Germany|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|November 19, 2020|Singularity Hub
If an advertiser wants a different ad to appear when served to a CTV viewer versus a mobile or desktop viewer, YouTube recommends the advertiser set up a separate CTV campaign, Weinstein said.
How YouTube is working to focus advertisers’ attentions on its connected TV inventory|Tim Peterson|November 19, 2020|Digiday

The speed of the feedback loop and the emphasis on experimentation are what separated Salesforce’s approach from the calcified subscription business models of yore—from print magazines to insurance companies.
How to succeed in the subscriptions business|rhhackettfortune|November 18, 2020|Fortune
Many dance instructors register their classes at gyms and teach women or men (separately) under the name of aerobics.
Iran’s Becoming a Footloose Nation as Dance Lessons Spread|IranWire|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He should have stuck to his own maxim: march separately and fight together.
Napoleon Was a Dynamite Dictator|J.P. O’Malley|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This magic number was arrived at after one candidate was interviewed separately by 18 different people—and then rejected.
Stephen Colbert Vs. ‘Schmidthead’: Google Chairman Faces Off With Comic Nemesis|Lloyd Grove|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Interpol burned through “a grand a day” at Electric Lady Studios and members began working separately.
Interpol on the Arrogance of Believing Their Own Myth and Life After Carlos D.|Melissa Leon|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The criminal part of the investigation is being handled separately by the Malaysian police.
MH370 Debris Is Lost Forever, Can the Plane Be Found Without It?|Clive Irving|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And then she and Rosemary thanked him separately, for each individual thing he had given.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
In admitting a member, if no form of election has been prescribed, each candidate must be elected separately.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
The flues are subdivided into Diapasons, Flutes, and Strings, and we now proceed to consider each of these groups separately.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
Plain and graduated tubes accompany the instrument; milk-tubes (Fig. 128) must be purchased separately.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Through the operation of a small tablet the organs can be played separately or together.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller

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

separate

OTHER WORDS FOR separate

OPPOSITES FOR separate

Origin of separate

synonym study for separate

OTHER WORDS FROM separate

Words related to separate

How to use separate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for separate

Derived forms of separate

Word Origin for separate