severance

American  

[sev-er-uhns, sev-ruhns] / ˈsɛv ər əns, ˈsɛv rəns /

noun

• severances
  plural

1. the act of severing or the state of being severed.

2. a breaking off, as of a friendship.

3. Law. a division into parts, as of liabilities or provisions; removal of a part from the whole.

4. severance pay.

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severance British  

/ ˈsɛvərəns /

noun

1. the act of severing or state of being severed

2. a separation

3. law the division into separate parts of a joint estate, contract, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonseverance
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• severances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of severance

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English severaunce, from Anglo-French; equivalent to sever + -ance

Explanation

A severance is the ending of a connection or relationship. A terrible argument between you and your cousin could turn into an all-out feud and eventually a complete severance between the two branches of your family. The noun severance implies a separation or cut of some kind, like a severance between your father and the political party with which he has become disenchanted. If you cut off relations with a person, group, or organization, you've initiated a severance. The phrase "severance pay" means the deal a company offers to an employee who's being let go. Severance comes from the word sever, "to cut," whose origin is the Latin separare, or "separate."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

severance severances

That program, Nike said, includes around $1 billion of pre-tax charges, “primarily consisting of employee-related costs,” as well as roughly $300 million in severance costs recognized in the last fiscal year.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

“We are supporting affected employees as they explore other opportunities within Kaiser Permanente and, where appropriate, providing severance, career support and outplacement services,” the health plan’s statement said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

Those who are unable to transfer will receive severance support, Starbucks said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Two voluntary severance schemes have now run at the institution, with previous rounds focused on professional services staff who work alongside academics.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

To symbolize the complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Discovery told investors that the cost of the downsizing would exceed $1 billion, to pay severances among other expenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2023

“I asked him repeatedly if the governor had approved or knew about any of his severances or payments, and Roy repeatedly refused to say that was the case,” Mayer said Thursday.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2021

Still, newspapers with strong guilds – the New York Times and Washington Post – have seen fewer layoffs and less brutal severances, on the whole, than those without.

From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2013

This advance in the division of labour is marked by such severances as we note in the thirteenth century of the cloth merchant from the tailor or the leather merchant from the butcher.

From History of the English People, Volume I Early England, 449-1071; Foreign Kings, 1071-1204; The Charter, 1204-1216 by John Richard Green

His retirement occasioned genuine grief to the King; and of all the severances which he had to undergo, this was probably that which affected Bismarck most.

From Bismarck and the Foundation of the German Empire by James Wycliffe Headlam