v. 1 disjoin, pull or take or break apart, come or fall apart, fall or take or break to pieces, split or divide or break (up), split or break (off or away), disconnect, disengage, part, partition, sort (out), uncouple, disarticulate, disassemble, unhook, detach, disunite, unyoke, disentangle, unravel In order to clean it, I first have to separate all the individual elements of the motor The glue didn't hold, and the vase separated into a dozen fragments. Separate this yarn into different piles. 2 distinguish, discriminate, analyse, sort, break down, classify, segregate, single out, sequester, type, codify, organize, split up; group, collate What criteria are used to separate the men from the boys, the sheep from the goats, or the wheat from the chaff? 3 split or break up, part (company), divide (up), disband, divorce After ten years we separated, and each went our own way 4 fork, split (up or off), bifurcate, diverge, branch Beyond the river, the road to Norton separates from the main road
adj. 5 divided, separated, disjoined, disconnected, detached, isolated, discrete, distinct, individual, independent, solitary, different Sort these books by subject into separate piles 6 different, independent, unrelated, other How you behave when you are not at home is a separate matter 7 withdrawn, solitary, alone, shut or closed off or away, apart, detached, removed, cloistered, secluded, sequestered, isolated, separated He prefers a separate existence, far away from the rest of the world