I. ˈsepəˌrāt also -eˌprāt; usu -ād+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English separaten, from Latin separatus, past participle of separare, from sed-, se- apart (from sed, se without) + parare to prepare, procure — more at idiot , pare
transitive verb
1.
a. : to set or keep apart : detach
two longitudinal valleys separate the mountains into three high ranges — Samuel Van Valkenburg & Ellsworth Huntington
a pull on the tab … separates seal just below cap — Modern Packaging
separate the white from the yolk of an egg
b. : to make a distinction between : discriminate , distinguish
how difficult it is to separate religion from magic in the beliefs … of savages — W.R.Inge
there is usually not much difficulty in separate a butterfly from a moth — A.D.Imms
c. : sort
separate mail
separate cards into suits
parcels fly … as clerks separate them by regions and states — A.C.Fisher
d. : to disperse in space or time : scatter
theaters in Canada are so widely separated that the costs of travelling are prohibitive — Report: (Canadian) Royal Commission on National Development
e. slang : to cause to divest oneself : strip — used with from
tricks for separating country bumpkins from their bankrolls
separate them from … money to back ventures that never were produced — E.D.Radin
2. archaic : to set aside for a special purpose : choose , dedicate
came into existence with the sense of being a “ separated ” nation, which God was using to make a new beginning for mankind — Reinhold Niebuhr
3. : to part by or as if by a legal separation
a. : sever conjugal ties with : cause to live apart
payments made to a divorced or legally separated wife — W.C.Warren&S.S.Surrey
b. : to sever contractual relations with : discharge
he was separated from the service with the rank of captain — E.J.Kahn
more than 100 employees have been separated from the firm in the past six months
any student who does not remove his probationary status … may be separated from the institution — Bulletin of Meharry Medical College
4. : to block off : bar , segregate
a … rood screen separates the nave from the chancel — American Guide Series: New York
the rural worker … is not separated from the landed aristocracy by racial difference — P.E.James
5.
a. : to isolate from a mixture : single out : extract
separate cream from milk by putting it through a separator
separate gold from an alloy
— often used with out
by whatever method the smaller organisms are separated out — R.E.Coker
static episodes … separated out of a larger and more complex historical situation — M.D.Geismar
b. archaic : to give off : secrete
glands, which separate a substance that has the smell of musk — Jedidiah Morse
intransitive verb
1. : to become divided
the airflow over the trailing edge of the flap has begun to separate — Skyways
the Uralian languages … separate into three branches — W.K.Matthews
2.
a. : to sever an association : become estranged : withdraw
Puritans … unwilling to separate from the Established Church — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
b. : to cease to live together as man and wife
after two stormy years of married life the couple separated by mutual consent
3. : to go in different directions : part company : disperse
after dinner we separated, the women to the library — Lucien Price
thought the House would like to know, before it separated — Sir Winston Churchill
4. : to become isolated from a mixture
oil … separates readily from water — B.G.A.Skrotzki & W.A.Vopat
Synonyms:
separate , part , divide , sever , sunder , and divorce can all mean to become or cause to become disunited or disjoined. separate implies a putting or keeping apart
separate the sheep from the goats
the political boundary separating this country from Mexico — R.S.Thoman
the ten centuries which separated the reign of Charlemagne and the reign of Napoleon — T.B.Macaulay
or a scattering or dispersion of units
the war separated many families
or a removal of one thing from another
separate a troublesome boy from a group
part suggests the separation, often complete, of two persons or things in close union or association, or of two parts of one thing
the two friends did not part until they had reached the station
a man and wife parted only by death
the cable parted under the strain
divide commonly stresses the idea of parts, groups, or sections resulting from cutting, breaking, partitioning, or branching
divide a cake into two pieces
the land is divided by natural boundaries such as streams
the auditorium proper divided into a pit, one or more galleries — C.F.Wittke
It can also be used in the sense of separate , especially when mutual antagonism or wide separation is suggested
the war divided many families
no religious difference arose to divide the old inhabitants from the English — G.M.Trevelyan
the suspicion which the Citizens' Committee predicted would divide neighbor from neighbor — David Clinton
sever often adds the idea of violence, suggesting forced separation, especially of part from whole or of persons joined in affection, close association, and so on
with one stroke he severed the head from the body
man's ancestors later became severed from this separate line of evolution — R.W.Murray
an immense peninsula slightly severed from the main mass — Forrest Morgan
severs relations with a hostile nation
severed friend from friend
sunder implies a violent rending or wrenching apart
the sundered atom — M.C.Faught
the dearest ties of friendship and of blood were sundered — T.B.Macaulay
divorce , in implying the legal dissolution of a marriage, usually suggests the separation of things so closely associated that they interact, are often regarded as inseparable, or commonly work, often work best, only in union
an institution concerned with general education … divorced from research and education for the professions is admittedly not a university but a college — J.B.Conant
form in art divorced from matter
divorce the worker's income from any dependence on the efforts he makes — Time
his gaiety was as divorced from scorn or cynicism as it was wedded to melancholy — John Mason Brown
II. ˈsep(ə)rə̇]t sometimes -pər]t; usu ]d.+V\ adjective
Etymology: Latin separatus, past participle of separare to separate
1.
a. archaic : characterized by segregation from other people : solitary , secluded
the tendency of prolonged separate confinement is to affect the mind — Edinburgh Review
the plan of my bungalow, with all convenience for being separate and sulky when I please — Sir Walter Scott
b. : having an incorporeal existence : disembodied , immaterial
being … is now seen as the nature which constitutes separate entity — Alan Gewirth
c. : set or kept apart : standing alone : detached , isolated
the more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates — T.S.Eliot
ceremonial chambers … were built as separate units in the central courtyards — American Guide Series: Arizona
2.
a. : not shared with another : individual , single
group consciousness … makes the individual think lightly of his own separate interests — M.R.Cohen
the world's largest city deserves separate consideration — L.D.Stamp
b. often capitalized : estranged from a parent body
there were 90 Separate churches, with 6,490 members — F.S.Mead
3.
a. : existing by itself : autonomous , independent
the partitioning of India created two separate jute economies — F.F.George
reorganization of schools into separate primary and postprimary units — H.C.Dent
b. : dissimilar in nature or identity : distinct , different
my most recent works, in their separate ways, embody this tendency — Aaron Copland
the full bibliography … lists 2204 separate publications — Geographical Journal
built-in facilities … permit cooking in seven separate ways without the use of additional utensils — Report of General Motors Corp.
Synonyms: see distinct , single
III. noun
( -s )
1. usually capitalized : new light a ; especially : separate baptist
2. : offprint
sent out separates and reprints of his major monographs — J.C.Burnham
3. : a group of soil particles of a definite size or grade obtained in separation (as in mechanical analysis)
4. separates plural : articles of dress designed to be worn interchangeably with others to form various costume combinations
IV. transitive verb
: dislocate 1a
separated his left shoulder