Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense separates, present participle separating, past tense, past participle separatedpronunciation note: The adjective and noun are pronounced (sepərət). The verb is pronounced (sepəreɪt).
1. adjective
If one thing is separatefrom another, there is a barrier, space, or division between them, so that they are clearly two things.
Each villa has a separate sitting-room.
They are now making plans to form their own separate party.
Business bank accounts were kept separate from personal ones. [+ from]
separatenessuncountable noun
...establishing Australia's cultural separateness from Britain. [+ from]
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
If you refer to separate things, you mean several different things, rather than just one thing.
Use separate chopping boards for raw meats, cooked meats, vegetables and salads.
Men and women have separate exercise rooms.
The authorities say six civilians have been killed in two separate attacks.
3. verb
If you separate people or things that are together, or if they separate, they move apart.
Police moved in to separate the two groups. [VERB noun]
The pans were held in both hands and swirled around to separate gold particles fromthe dirt. [VERB noun + from]
The front end of the car separated from the rest of the vehicle. [VERB + from]
They separated. Stephen returned to the square. [VERB]
They're separated from the adult inmates. [beVERB-ed + from]
Synonyms: divide, detach, disconnect, come between More Synonyms of separate
4. verb
If you separate people or things that have been connected, or if one separatesfrom another, the connection between them is ended.
They want to separate teaching from research. [VERB noun + from]
It's very possible that we may see a movement to separate the two parts of the country. [VERB noun]
...Catalan parties vowing to separate from Spain. [VERB + from]
[Also pl-n V]
5. verb
If a couple who are married or living together separate, they decide to live apart.
Her parents separated when she was very young. [VERB]
Since I separated from my husband I have gone a long way. [VERB + from]
Synonyms: split up, part, divorce, break up More Synonyms of separate
6. verb
An object, obstacle, distance, or period of time which separates two people, groups, or things exists between them.
...the white-railed fence that separated the yard from the paddock. [VERB noun + from]
They had undoubtedly made progress in the six years that separated the two periods. [VERB noun]
Rural communities are widely separated and often small. [V pl-n]
But a group of six women and 23 children got separated from the others. [getVERB-ed]
7. verb
If you separate one idea or fact from another, you clearly see or show the difference between them.
It is difficult to separate legend from truth. [VERB noun + from]
...learning how to separate real problems from imaginary illnesses. [VERB noun from noun]
It is difficult to separate the two aims. [VERB noun]
Separate out means the same as separate.
How can one ever separate out the act from the attitudes that surround it? [VP n + from]
8. verb
A quality or factor that separates one thing from another is the reason why the two things are different from each other.
The single most important factor that separates ordinary photographs from good photographsis the lighting. [VERB noun + from]
The question of what separates man from animals has fascinated scientists for centuries. [VERB noun from noun]
9. verb
If a particular number of points separate two teams or competitors, one of them is winning or has won by that number of points.
In the end only three points separated the two teams. [VERB noun]
10. verb
If you separate a group of people or things into smaller elements, or if a group separates, it is divided into smaller elements.
The police wanted to separate them into smaller groups. [VERB noun + into]
Wallerstein's work can be separated into three main component themes. [VERB noun into noun]
Let's separate into smaller groups. [VERB + into]
So all the colours that make up white light are sent in different directions andthey separate. [VERB]
Synonyms: disperse, split (up), scatter, disband More Synonyms of separate
Separate out means the same as separate.
If prepared many hours ahead, the mixture may separate out. [VERBPARTICLE]
11. plural noun
Separates are clothes such as skirts, trousers, and shirts which cover just the top half or the bottom half of your body.
12. See also separated
13.
See go their separate ways
14. to separate the wheat from the chaff
Phrasal verbs:
See separate out
More Synonyms of separate
separate in British English
verb (ˈsɛpəˌreɪt)
1. (transitive)
to act as a barrier between
a range of mountains separates the two countries
2.
to put or force or be put or forced apart
3.
to part or be parted from a mass or group
4. (transitive)
to discriminate between
to separate the men from the boys
5.
to divide or be divided into component parts; sort or be sorted
6.
to sever or be severed
7. (intransitive)
(of a married couple) to cease living together by mutual agreement or after obtaining a decree of judicial separation
adjective (ˈsɛprɪt, ˈsɛpərɪt)
8.
existing or considered independently
a separate problem
9.
disunited or apart
10.
set apart from the main body or mass
11.
distinct, individual, or particular
12.
solitary or withdrawn
13. (sometimes capital)
designating or relating to a Church or similar institution that has ceased to have associations with an original parent organization
Derived forms
separately (ˈseparately)
adverb
separateness (ˈseparateness)
noun
Word origin
C15: from Latin sēparāre, from sē- apart + parāre to obtain
to keep apart or divide, as by an intervening barrier or space
to separate two fields by a fence
2.
to put, bring, or force apart; part
to separate two fighting boys
3.
to set apart; disconnect; dissociate
to separate church and state
4.
to remove or sever from association, service, etc., esp. legally or formally
He was separated from the army right after V-E Day
5.
to sort, part, divide, or disperse (an assemblage, mass, compound, etc.), as into individual units, components, or elements
6. (usually fol. by from or out)
to take by parting or dividing; extract
to separate metal from ore
7. Math
to write (the variables of a differential equation) in a form in which the differentials of the independent and dependent variables are, respectively, functions of these variables alone
We can separate the variables to solve the equation
Compare separation of variables
intransitive verb
8. (often fol. by from)
to part company; withdraw from personal association
to separate from a church
9. (of a married pair)
to stop living together but without getting a divorce
10.
to draw or come apart; become divided, disconnected, or detached
11.
to become parted from a mass or compound
Cream separates from milk
12.
to take or go in different directions
We have to separate at the crossroad
adjective
13.
detached, disconnected, or disjoined
14.
unconnected; distinct; unique
two separate questions
15.
being or standing apart; distant or dispersed
two separate houses
The desert has widely separate oases
16.
existing or maintained independently
separate organizations
17.
individual or particular
each separate item
18.
not shared; individual or private
separate checks
separate rooms
19. (sometimes cap)
noting or pertaining to a church or other organization no longer associated with the original or parent organization
noun
20. (usually separates)
women's outer garments that may be worn in combination with a variety of others to make different ensembles, as matching and contrasting blouses, skirts, and sweaters
21. "> offprint (sense 1)
22.
a bibliographical unit, as an article, chapter, or other portion of a larger work, printed from the same type but issued separately, sometimes with additional pages
Derived forms
separately
adverb
separateness
noun
Word origin
[1400–50; late ME (n. and adj.) ‹ L sēparātus (ptp. of sēparāre), equiv. to sē-se- + par(āre) to furnish, produce, obtain, prepare + -ātus-ate1]
More idioms containing
separate
separate the sheep from the goats
separate the wheat from the chaff
separate the men from the boys
Examples of 'separate' in a sentence
separate
Besides, it seems to me that there are two separate issues here.
Peter Robinson AFTERMATH (2001)
The three of them split up at about a quarter to eleven and went their separate ways.
Peter Robinson AFTERMATH (2001)
On the three floors above the Hamlet restaurant, there were three separate hotels, each occupying a single floor.
Mark Burnell CHAMELEON (2001)
In other languages
separate
British English: separate /ˈseprɪt/ ADJECTIVE
If one thing is separate from another, the two things are apart and are not connected.
Business bank accounts were kept separate from personal ones.
American English: separate
Arabic: مُنْفَصِل
Brazilian Portuguese: separado
Chinese: 分离的
Croatian: odvojen
Czech: oddělený
Danish: separat
Dutch: gescheiden afgesplitst
European Spanish: separado
Finnish: erillinen
French: séparé
German: getrennt
Greek: χωριστός
Italian: separato
Japanese: 単独の
Korean: 별개의
Norwegian: separat
Polish: oddzielny
European Portuguese: separado
Romanian: separat
Russian: отдельный
Latin American Spanish: separado
Swedish: separat
Thai: ซึ่งแยกออกจากกัน
Turkish: ayrı
Ukrainian: окремий
Vietnamese: riêng biệt
British English: separate /ˈsepəreɪt/ VERB
If you separate people or things that are together, or if they separate, they move apart.
Stir the rice with a fork to separate the grains.
American English: separate
Arabic: يُفَرِّقُ
Brazilian Portuguese: separar
Chinese: 分离
Croatian: odvojiti
Czech: oddělit
Danish: adskille
Dutch: scheiden
European Spanish: separar
Finnish: erottaa
French: séparer
German: trennen
Greek: διαχωρίζω
Italian: separare
Japanese: 分ける
Korean: ...을 가르다
Norwegian: separere
Polish: rozdzielić
European Portuguese: separar
Romanian: a separa
Russian: отделять
Latin American Spanish: separar
Swedish: separera
Thai: แยกออกจาก
Turkish: ayırmak
Ukrainian: розділяти
Vietnamese: tách ra
All related terms of 'separate'
separate out
If you separate out something from the other things it is with, you take it out.
separate school
(in Canada) a school for a large religious minority financed by its rates and administered by its own school board but under the authority of the provincial department of education
separate opinion
an opinion written by a judge separately from other judges , which can either agree or disagree with the opinion written by the majority of judges
separate but equal
pertaining to a racial policy by which black people may be segregated if granted equal opportunities and facilities , as for education , transportation , or jobs
go their separate ways
When two or more people who have been together for some time go their separate ways , they go to different places or end their relationship .
separate the men from the boys
to show who is strong and capable and who is not
separate the sheep from the goats
to examine a group of things or people and decide which ones are good and which are bad
separate the wheat from the chaff
to decide which things or people in a group are good or necessary , and which are not
separate the wheat from the chaff/sort the wheat from the chaff
Chaff is the outer part of grain such as wheat . It is removed before the grain is used as food.
to separate the wheat from the chaff to sort the wheat from the chaff
If you separate the wheat from the chaff or sort the wheat from the chaff , you decide which people or things in a group are good or important and which are not.
(= make a distinction between)[ideas, facts]区(區)分 (qūfēn)
(= exist between) 分隔 (fēngé)
vi
(= move apart) 分开(開) (fēnkāi)
(= split up)[parents, couple]分居 (fēnjū)
[mixture, sauce, colours] (also separate out) 分离(離) (fēnlí)
to separate (people/things) into groups将(將)(人/物)分成组(組) (jiāng (rén/wù) fēnchéng zǔ)
to be separated[couple]分居 (fēnjū)
to separate sth from sth (= move apart) 把某物与(與)某物分开(開) (bǎ mǒuwù yǔ mǒuwù fēnkāi) (= make a distinction between) 把某物从(從)某物中识(識)别(別)出来(來) (bǎ mǒuwù cóng mǒuwù zhōng shíbié chūlái) (= make different) 将(將)某物与(與)某物区(區)分 (jiāng mǒuwù yǔ mǒuwù qūfēn) (= form a barrier between) 把某物与(與)某物分隔 (bǎ mǒuwù yǔ mǒuwù fēngé)
to separate from[object, surface]与(與) ... 分开(開) (yǔ ... fēnkāi) [husband, wife]分居 (fēnjū)
to keep sth separate from将(將)某物与(與) ... 分开(開) (jiāng mǒuwù yǔ ... fēnkāi)
to remain separate from保持与(與) ... 分离(離) (bǎochí yǔ ... fēnlí)
they went their separate ways (to different places) 他们(們)分道扬(揚)镳(鑣)了 (tāmen fēn dào yáng biāo le) (= ended their relationship) 他们(們)分手了 (tāmen fēnshǒu le)