severable

American  

[sev-er-uh-buhl, sev-ruh-] / ˈsɛv ər ə bəl, ˈsɛv rə- /

adjective

1. capable of being severed.

2. Law. separable or capable of being treated as separate from a whole legal right or obligation.

   a severable contract obligation.

---

ˈseverable British  

/ ˈsɛvərəbəl /

adjective

1. able to be severed

2. law capable of being separated, as a clause in an agreement

   a severable contract

---

Other Word Forms

• nonseverable adjective
• severability noun
• unseverable adjective

Etymology

Origin of severable

First recorded in 1540–50; sever + -able

Example Sentences

Second, the plaintiffs argued that the mandate isn’t severable from the rest of the ACA, meaning that if it falls, the whole ACA falls.

From Los Angeles Times

If the court were to find the ACA severable, then even a holding that the individual mandate was unconstitutional would not invalidate the entire law.

From Salon

Assuming the court determines the mandate is unconstitutional and severable from some or most of the rest of the law, it would also have to decide which parts to keep.

From Scientific American

In legal terms, they argued that the mandate was not severable from the balance of the law.

From New York Times

“The court presumes that an unconstitutional provision in a law is severable from the remainder of the law or statute,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion upholding a congressional ban on robocalls.

From New York Times