secede
verb (used without object)
to withdraw formally from an alliance, federation, or association, as from a political union, a religious organization, etc.
were seceding
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past progressiveof secede.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker: Once I heard that they were seceding, I was very sad, because I knew the toll of civil war.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 26, 2021
Let it be forever remembered that, while churches were severed and states were seceding, the Masonic order remained unbroken in that wild and fateful hour.
From The Builders A Story and Study of Masonry by Joseph Fort Newton
The Union was breaking, the Southern States were seceding, treason was rampant in Washington, and the Government was bankrupt.
From Hero Tales from American History by Theodore Roosevelt
One by one the slaveholding States were seceding from the Union.
From Political Recollections 1840 to 1872 by George W. Julian
