separation

noun

Saysep-uh-RAY-shuhnUK/ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/AUS/ˌsep.əˈɹæɪ.ʃən/

8 meanings of separation

1
nouncountable or uncountable
The act of taking two or more things apart, or the state of being kept apart.
Like sorting your clean clothes into two piles: shirts in one, socks in another.
The separation of the egg yolk from the white takes a steady hand.
After the crash, the separation of the train cars happened slowly.
Similardivision, detachment, severance, rupture, disjunction
Oppositeunification, combination, annexation
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountable
Being kept apart from other people, or the act of splitting people up.
Like friends who move to different cities and hardly ever meet.
The war caused the separation of many families across the border.
Their long separation ended when she finally came home.
Similarparting, absence, isolation, division, estrangement
Oppositereunion, union, togetherness
Note
3
nouncountable
When a married couple lives in separate homes but stays legally married.
After years of arguments, they agreed to a trial separation.
Their separation lasted a year before they decided to reunite.
Similarsplit, breakup, estrangement, parting
Oppositereconciliation, reunion
Note
4
nouncountable or uncountable
A gap or space between two things or people.
Like the empty space between two parked cars.
There was a wide separation between the two rows of seats.
Keep a small separation between the plants so they can grow.
Similargap, space, opening, break, interstice
5
nouncountable
The exact spot where something splits into parts.
Like the line on a chocolate bar where it snaps into pieces.
The crack marked the separation between the two layers of rock.
You could see the separation where the road split in two.
Similarboundary, border, demarcation
Note
6
nouncountable
A thing placed between two spaces to keep them apart.
Like a curtain that splits one big room into two.
A thin separation divided the kitchen from the dining area.
They put up a separation to give the children their own corner.
Similarbarrier, separator
7
nouncountable
A legal paper that lets a married couple live apart but stay married.
They signed a separation before deciding what to do next.
The lawyer drew up a separation for the couple to review.
Similarsettlement
Note
8
nouncountable
Leaving active duty in the military without always leaving the service.
His separation from active duty came after twenty years of service.
She planned her separation but stayed on in the reserves.
Similardischarge, release
Oppositeenlistment, induction
Note

Practice

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Origin

This word came into English in the 1400s. It goes back through Old French to the Latin word "separatio," from "separate" plus "-ion."