uncouple

[uhn-kuhp-uhl]

verb (used with object)

uncoupled, uncoupling 

1. to release the coupling or link between; disconnect; let go.

   to uncouple railroad cars.

2. to end (a romantic relationship or marriage).

   Their marriage was uncoupled by financial problems.

verb (used without object)

uncoupled, uncoupling 

1. to become unfastened; let go.

   The glider uncoupled from the tow plane.

2. to end a romantic relationship or marriage.

   My sister and her boyfriend have uncoupled after ten years together.

3. (of a romantic relationship or marriage) to end.

uncouple

/ ʌnˈkʌpəl /

verb

1. to disconnect or unfasten or become disconnected or unfastened

2. (tr) to set loose; release

Word History and Origins

Origin of uncouple¹

1300–50; Middle English unco ( u ) plen; un- ², couple

Example Sentences

Mitochondria in brown fat can shift from making fuel to generating heat through a molecule called uncoupling protein 1.

Read more on Science Daily

“You know I was married once, but that didn’t work out. It hurt to uncouple our lives from our dreams.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

More fundamentally, the Republican Party has uncoupled itself completely from the notion that the purpose of government is to promote the security, liberties and prosperity of the people it represents.

Read more on Salon

If the web makes it easy to uncouple sights and sounds from their sources, what will people remember of stations’ four-letter identifiers, those signifiers of pride and place, the call signs?

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But rather than dying, the fibers retracted, uncoupling from the heart muscle.

Read more on Science Magazine