Meanings
separate1
present singular third person separates · participle present separating · participle past separated · past separated · alternative archaic misspelling seperate
- transitiveTo divide (a thing) into separate parts.
Separate the articles from the headings.
2 more examples
Ant taxonomists have decided that anything that's worth separating should be separated at the species level, and have no truck with subspecies at all. Butterfly taxonomists, however, like the triple-barrelled name approach and dote on subspecies. As a result, the numbers of ant species and butterfly species are not directly comparable.
2007 March 14, Emma Marris, “The Species and the Specious”, in Nature, number 446The mesosphere may be described as the earth's intermediate or middle atmosphere, which separates the thermosphere above from the ozonosphere (or stratosphere) below, both of which are responsible for absorption of most of the ultraviolet part of the solar radiation and preventing it from reaching the earth's surface.
2008, Kshudiram Saha, The Earth's Atmosphere: Its Physics and Dynamics, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 102Synonyms: partition, split, becut, decide, discerp, disintegrate, dispart, dissever
- transitiveTo disunite from a group or mass; to disconnect.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 8:352 more examples
From the fine gold I separate the allay [alloy].
1683, John Dryden, The Art of PoetryThere must be some deep-rooted anti-social principle in every man's nature, so dearly does he love aught that separates him from his kind; or is it but one of the many shapes taken by that mental kaleidoscope, vanity, the varying and the glittering, the desire of distinction, sinking into that of notice?
1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Talisman, page 66Synonyms: differentiate, disaggregate, disassemble, discriminate, disjoin, disunify, disunite, divide
- transitiveTo cause (things or people) to be separate.
If the kids get too noisy, separate them for a few minutes.
1 more example
It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […]; […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.
2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36Synonyms: split up, tear apart
- intransitiveTo divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
The sauce will separate if you don't keep stirring.
Synonyms: break down, come apart, disintegrate, fall apart
- obsoleteTo set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.
Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 13:2Synonyms: earmark, sepose, allocate, appropriate, shelve, assign, dedicate, detach
separate2
- not comparableApart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else).
This chair can be disassembled into five separate pieces.
1 more example
Syntactically, hendiadic constructions differ from synthetonic sequences in that the latter are separate clauses, and hence are separately negatable and may have different tenses and aspects and different subjects.
2002, Joan L. Bybee, Michael Noonan, Complex Sentences in Grammar and Discourse, page 152
separate3
plural separates
- plural normallyAnything that is sold by itself, especially articles of clothing such as blouses, skirts, jackets, and pants.
French taffeta evening separates – a puffball skirt, and a ruffled blouse – were pressed flat to drag them up to date.
2017 October 2, Jess Cartner-Morle, “Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in the Guardian - bibliographyA printing of an article from a periodical as its own distinct publication and distributed independently, often with different page numbers.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo divide (a thing) into separate parts.
verbTo disunite from a group or mass; to disconnect.
verbTo cause (things or people) to be separate.
verbTo divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
verbTo set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveindependent; not united or joint
adjectivestanding apart; not attached to or supported by anything
adjectiveseparated according to race, sex, class, or religion
adjectivehave the connection undone; having become separate
nouna separately printed article that originally appeared in a larger publication
verbmark as different
verbseparate into parts or portions
verbarrange or order by classes or categories
verbdiscontinue an association or relation; go different ways
verbbecome separated into pieces or fragments
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
separate · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*per-“produce, procure, bring forward, bring forth”
- Latinsēparātus
- Middle Englishseparaten“to separate”
- Englishseparate
From Middle English separaten (“to separate”), from separat (“separated”) + -en, from Latin sēparātus, perfect passive participle of sēparō (“to separate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from sē- (“apart”) + parō (“prepare”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“produce, procure, bring forward, bring forth”). Displaced Middle English scheden, from Old English scēadan (whence English shed). Doublet of sever, also derived from the same Latin verb.
More words from Middle English, Latin, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →separate · adjective
- Middle Englishseparat
- Middle Englishseparat
- Englishseparate
Inherited from Middle English separat (“separated”), from Latin sēparātus, see -ate (“adjective-forming suffix”) and Etymology 1 for more.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →separate · noun
From a substantivization of the above adjective, see -ate (“noun-forming suffix”) and Etymology 1 for more.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans skei, deel
- skeito disunite, disconnect
- deelto disunite, disconnect
- verdeelto disunite, disconnect
- skeito cause to be separate
- verdeelto cause to be separate
- skeito divide itself
- geskeideapart from; not connected to
- aparteapart from; not connected to
- afgesonderdeapart from; not connected to
- separaatapart from; not connected to
- afsonderlikapart from; not connected to
- geskei vanfollowed by "from": not together with
- apart vanfollowed by "from": not together with
- afgesonder vanfollowed by "from": not together with
Ancient Greek μερίζω, χωρίζω
- μερίζω (merízō)to divide into separate parts
- χωρίζω (khōrízō)to disunite, disconnect
Arabic فَصَلَ, مُنْفَصِل
- فَصَلَ (faṣala)to disunite, disconnect
- مُنْفَصِل (munfaṣil)apart from; not connected to
Bulgarian разделям, разглобявам
- разделям (razdeljam)to divide into separate parts
- разглобявам (razglobjavam)to disunite, disconnect
- разлагам (razlagam)to disunite, disconnect
- отделям (otdeljam)to cause to be separate
- отде́лен (otdélen)apart from; not connected to
- разделен (razdelen)followed by "from": not together with
Catalan separar, separar
- separarto disunite, disconnect
- separarto cause to be separate
- separatapart from; not connected to
- separatfollowed by "from": not together with
Chinese Mandarin 分離 /分离, 分開 /分开
- 分離 /分离 (fēnlí)to disunite, disconnect
- 分開 /分开 (fēnkāi)to disunite, disconnect
- 隔 (gé)to disunite, disconnect
- 分開的 /分开的 (fēnkāi de)apart from; not connected to
Czech oddělovat, oddělit
- oddělovatto disunite, disconnect
- oddělitto disunite, disconnect
- samostatnýfollowed by "from": not together with
- separátnífollowed by "from": not together with
- oddělenýfollowed by "from": not together with
Danish adskille, adskille
- adskilleto disunite, disconnect
- adskilleto cause to be separate
- afsondreto cause to be separate
Dutch scheiden, scheiden
- scheidento disunite, disconnect
- scheidento cause to be separate
- afzonderento cause to be separate
- scheidento divide itself
- zich verdelento divide itself
- schiftento divide itself
- afzonderlijkapart from; not connected to
- gescheidenapart from; not connected to
- afgezonderdapart from; not connected to
- afgezonderdeapart from; not connected to
- separaatapart from; not connected to
- gescheiden vanfollowed by "from": not together with
Esperanto malkunigi, apartigi
- malkunigito disunite, disconnect
- apartigito cause to be separate
- malkunigito cause to be separate
- malkuniĝito divide itself
- malkunaapart from; not connected to
Finnish erottaa, jakaa
- erottaato divide into separate parts
- jakaato divide into separate parts
- erottaato disunite, disconnect
- erottaato cause to be separate
- erottuato divide itself
- erillinenapart from; not connected to
- eriapart from; not connected to
- irtonainenapart from; not connected to
- erillinenfollowed by "from": not together with
- erilläänfollowed by "from": not together with
French séparer, séparer
- séparerto disunite, disconnect
- séparerto cause to be separate
- se séparerto divide itself
- séparéapart from; not connected to
- séparéeapart from; not connected to
- séparéfollowed by "from": not together with
- séparéefollowed by "from": not together with
German trennen, scheiden
- trennento disunite, disconnect
- scheidento disunite, disconnect
- separierento disunite, disconnect
- separierento cause to be separate
- unterscheidento cause to be separate
- absondernto cause to be separate
- sich trennento divide itself
- auseinanderfallento divide itself
- einzelnapart from; not connected to
- getrenntapart from; not connected to
- separatapart from; not connected to
- getrenntfollowed by "from": not together with
- separatfollowed by "from": not together with
Greek χωρίζω, κόβω
- χωρίζω (chorízo)to disunite, disconnect
- κόβω (kóvo)to divide itself
- ξεχωριστός (xechoristós)apart from; not connected to
- διαχωρισμένος (diachorisménos)followed by "from": not together with
Hebrew הפריד
- הפריד (hifríd)to divide into separate parts
Hindi अलग, अलहदा
- अलग (alag)apart from; not connected to
- अलहदा (alahdā)apart from; not connected to
Hungarian elválaszt, elkülönít
- elválasztto disunite, disconnect
- elkülönítto disunite, disconnect
- szeparálto disunite, disconnect
- elkülönítto cause to be separate
- szeparálto cause to be separate
- elkülönülto divide itself
- különapart from; not connected to
- különállóapart from; not connected to
Icelandic aðkilinn
- aðkilinnapart from; not connected to
Indonesian memisahkan
- memisahkanto cause to be separate
Irish deighil, scaoil i
- deighilto disunite, disconnect
- scaoil ito disunite, disconnect
Italian separare, dividere
- separareto divide into separate parts
- dividereto divide into separate parts
- separareto disunite, disconnect
- separatoapart from; not connected to
- separataapart from; not connected to
- separatofollowed by "from": not together with
- separatafollowed by "from": not together with
Japanese 切り離す, 分離する
- 切り離す (kirihanasu)to disunite, disconnect
- 分離する (bunri suru)to disunite, disconnect
- 分かれる (wakareru)to divide itself
- 別れる (wakareru)to divide itself
- 分れた (wakareta)apart from; not connected to
Korean 분리(分離)하다, 분리(分離)되다
- 분리(分離)하다 (bullihada)to disunite, disconnect
- 분리(分離)되다 (bullidoeda)to divide itself
- 개개의 (gaegae'ui)apart from; not connected to
- 별개의 (byeolgae'ui)followed by "from": not together with
Latin dīvidō, sēiungō
- dīvidōto divide into separate parts
- sēiungōto divide into separate parts
- distinctusapart from; not connected to
- sēcrētusapart from; not connected to
Latvian sadalīties
- sadalītiesto divide itself
Māori iheu, īheuheu
- iheuto divide into separate parts
- īheuheuto divide into separate parts
- weheto divide into separate parts
- tiriwāto disunite, disconnect
- īheuheuto disunite, disconnect
- tautokoto disunite, disconnect
- wawaoto cause to be separate
- īheuheuto cause to be separate
- wawaoto cause to be separate
- whakaweheto cause to be separate
- nahenaheapart from; not connected to
- tūweheapart from; not connected to
Norwegian skille, avsondre
- skilleto cause to be separate
- avsondreto cause to be separate
Persian جدایدن
- جدایدنto divide into separate parts
Polish oddzielać, oddzielić
- oddzielaćto disunite, disconnect
- oddzielićto disunite, disconnect
- separowaćto disunite, disconnect
- rozdzielaćto cause to be separate
- rozdzielićto cause to be separate
- separowaćto cause to be separate
- oddzielnyapart from; not connected to
- osobnyapart from; not connected to
Portuguese separar, separar
- separarto disunite, disconnect
- separarto cause to be separate
- separar-seto divide itself
- separadoapart from; not connected to
- separadofollowed by "from": not together with
Punjabi ਅਲਹਿਦਾ
- ਅਲਹਿਦਾ (alahidā)apart from; not connected to
Romanian despărți, separa
- despărțito disunite, disconnect
- separato disunite, disconnect
- despărțito cause to be separate
- separato cause to be separate
- separato divide itself
- separatapart from; not connected to
- separatăapart from; not connected to
Russian отделя́ть, отдели́ть
- отделя́ть (otdeljátʹ)to disunite, disconnect
- отдели́ть (otdelítʹ)to disunite, disconnect
- разделя́ть (razdeljátʹ)to cause to be separate
- разъединя́ть (razʺjedinjátʹ)to cause to be separate
- разлуча́ть (razlučátʹ)to cause to be separate
- разделя́ться (razdeljátʹsja)to divide itself
- отде́льный (otdélʹnyj)apart from; not connected to
- обосо́бленный (obosóblennyj)apart from; not connected to
- разде́льный (razdélʹnyj)followed by "from": not together with
Scottish Gaelic eadar-dhealaich, eadar-dhealaich
- eadar-dhealaichto disunite, disconnect
- eadar-dhealaichto cause to be separate
- air lethapart from; not connected to
- air leth (bho)followed by "from": not together with
Spanish separar, cisionar
- separarto divide into separate parts
- cisionarto divide into separate parts
- separarto disunite, disconnect
- separarto cause to be separate
- disgregarto cause to be separate
- disatraerto cause to be separate
- apartarto cause to be separate
- separarseto divide itself
- separadoapart from; not connected to
- separadofollowed by "from": not together with
Swedish avskilja, skilja
- avskiljato disunite, disconnect
- skiljato disunite, disconnect
- delato disunite, disconnect
- delato cause to be separate
- skiljato cause to be separate
- avskiljato cause to be separate
- delato divide itself
- splittrato divide itself
- söndrato divide itself
- avskildapart from; not connected to
- skiljdapart from; not connected to
- separatapart from; not connected to
- skildfollowed by "from": not together with
- separatfollowed by "from": not together with
- åtskildfollowed by "from": not together with
Tagalog ihiwalay
- ihiwalayto divide into separate parts
Tamil பிரி
- பிரி (piri)apart from; not connected to
Turkish ayırmak, ayırmak
- ayırmakto disunite, disconnect
- ayırmakto cause to be separate
- bölmekto divide itself
- ayrıapart from; not connected to
- -den ayrıfollowed by "from": not together with
Ukrainian відділя́ти, відділи́ти
- відділя́ти (viddiljáty)to disunite, disconnect
- відділи́ти (viddilýty)to disunite, disconnect
- відокре́млювати (vidokrémljuvaty)to disunite, disconnect
- відокре́мити (vidokrémyty)to disunite, disconnect
- розділя́ти (rozdiljáty)to cause to be separate
- розділя́тися (rozdiljátysja)to divide itself
- відділя́тися (viddiljátysja)to divide itself
- відокре́млюватися (vidokrémljuvatysja)to divide itself
- окре́мий (okrémyj)apart from; not connected to
- розді́льний (rozdílʹnyj)followed by "from": not together with
Urdu الگ
- الگ (alag)apart from; not connected to
Welsh gwahan
- gwahanapart from; not connected to
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
separate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/separate
“separate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/separate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “separate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/separate.
Source: separate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.