I. dis·so·ciate dəˈsōs(h)ēə̇]t, (ˈ)di|sō-, -ōshə̇], -ōs(h)ēˌā], usu ]d.+V adjective
Etymology: Latin dissociatus, past participle
: dissociated
perched on the edge of the old sofa in the living room … she would appear oddly dissociate from her surroundings — Frances G. Patton
II. dis·so·ci·ate -ōs(h)ēˌāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin dissociatus, past participle of dissociare to separate from fellowship, disunite, estrange, from dis- dis- (I) + sociare to join, share, from socius companion — more at social
transitive verb
1. : to cut off (as from society) : separate especially from association or union with another : disconnect from association with another
dissociates him from the company of cynics — Marya Mannes
modern architecture cannot be dissociated from town or community planning — Report: (Canadian) Royal Commission on National Development
dissociated themselves from the saloons and the distillers — M.R.Cohen
never possible to dissociate the meaning of words from the words themselves — Samuel Alexander
2. : to separate into discrete units or parts : disunite
those two elements of feeling which Freud says have become dissociated in the life of modern man — Irving Howe
nor are Joyce's characters merely the sum of the particles into which their experience has been dissociated — Edmund Wilson
specifically : to subject to chemical dissociation
intransitive verb
1. : to undergo dissociation
2. of bacteria : to mutate especially reversibly