sever

American  

[sev-er] / ˈsɛv ər /

verb (used with object)

1. to separate (a part) from the whole, as by cutting or the like.

2. to divide into parts, especially forcibly; cleave.

3. to break off or dissolve (ties, relations, etc.).

4. Law. to divide into parts; disunite (an estate, titles of a statute, etc.).

5. to distinguish; discriminate between.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become separated from each other; become divided into parts.

sever British  

/ ˈsɛvə /

verb

1. to put or be put apart; separate

2. to divide or be divided into parts

3. (tr) to break off or dissolve (a tie, relationship, etc)

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Etymology

Origin of sever

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English severen, from Middle French sev(e)rer; separate

Example Sentences

Through the cockpit, the city glowed on the horizon, a strip of twinkling lights severing the night sky from the dark Potomac river.

From The Wall Street Journal

Disney said the severed body was actually that of a robot, and the fact it had been cut in two "further emphasised its non-human nature".

From BBC

Her right arm is still weak where she severed the nerves there and had to have them taken from behind her foot, which has left her without sensation.

From BBC

After crushing a Jewish revolt in the second century, Emperor Hadrian sought to sever the Jewish connection to the land by renaming the province “Syria Palaestina”—a name derived from the long-vanished Philistines.

From The Wall Street Journal

While many ties between Russia and the West have been severed over Moscow's war in Ukraine, cooperation has continued on board the space station.

From Barron's

Related Words

• abandon
• break off
• dissolve
• put an end to
• separate
• terminate