decouplement

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noun

The act of decoupling; disengagement.

Scrabble 19

Meanings

noundecouplement (countable and uncountable, plural decouplements)

plural decouplements

  1. countableuncountableThe act of decoupling; disengagement.

    He saw an opening for such a decouplement if “deference to western episteme” could be removed from the development picture.

    1998, Sujatha Sosale, Communication for Democracy Or Development?
    2 more examples

    Though there is open discussion of the risk of American decouplement from Europe, that is not a grave risk at present; what is a risk is the existing couplement of superpower conflicts with the potential sacrifice of Europe.

    1977, Alva Myrdal, The Game of Disarmament, →ISBN

    The specter of decouplement is that of disjoining a future war in Europe from the American nuclear deterrent, with which Europeans want to prevent an attack on Europe altogether rather than to hold the deterrent in reserve until it could deter nothing but a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States itself.

    1984, Theodore Draper, Present History, page 149

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

decouplement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decouplement

MLA

“decouplement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decouplement. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decouplement,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decouplement.

Source: decouplement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.