disjunction
noun
dis·junc·tion dis-ˈjəŋ(k)-shən 
1
: a sharp cleavage : disunion, separation
the disjunction between theory and practice
2
: a compound sentence in logic formed by joining two simple statements by or:
a
: inclusive disjunction
b
: exclusive disjunction
Did you know?
Disjunction vs Disconnect
A disjunction may be a mere lack of connection between two things, or a large gulf. There's often a huge disjunction between what people expect from computers and what they know about them, and the disjunction between a star's public image and her actual character may be just as big. We may speak of the disjunction between science and morality, between doing and telling, or between knowing and explaining. In recent years, disjunction seem to have been losing out to a newer synonym, the noun disconnect.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Her demeanor and her look were at distinct odds with the details of her testimony — and this disjunction itself, this striking contrast, threw her words in sharp relief, intensifying their impact. 
New York Times, 30 June 2022 There’s now a radical disjunction between public celebrations of big givers and their gifts, on the one hand, and a growing body of critique of philanthropy, on the other. Nicholas Lemann, The New Yorker, 23 May 2022 Despite the apparent disjunction between Mr. Bersani’s literary criticism and his work on gay identity, there are themes running through both. Clay Risen, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Feb. 2022 It was meant admiringly, and Schjeldahl is absolutely right: A disjunction between intentions and effects can produce aesthetic dynamite. Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2022 The quotations from Crane’s harsh, haiku-like poems spit out from Auster’s gently loquacious pages in unmissable disjunction. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2021 The other underlying regularity of the election is the larger one, easily overlooked, which perhaps governs politics in all the liberal democracies now, and that is the enormous and ever-growing disjunction between urban and rural voters. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021 Still, if past and present, fiction and nonfiction never fully cohere, that formal disjunction nonetheless achieves its own strange power. Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2021 Current practices often hinge on bad data, an approach that exacerbates the disjunction fueling the patchwork of standards against which to measure and report. Andrew Bruce, Forbes, 11 June 2021 See More
New York Times, 30 June 2022 There’s now a radical disjunction between public celebrations of big givers and their gifts, on the one hand, and a growing body of critique of philanthropy, on the other. Nicholas Lemann, The New Yorker, 23 May 2022 Despite the apparent disjunction between Mr. Bersani’s literary criticism and his work on gay identity, there are themes running through both. Clay Risen, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Feb. 2022 It was meant admiringly, and Schjeldahl is absolutely right: A disjunction between intentions and effects can produce aesthetic dynamite. Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2022 The quotations from Crane’s harsh, haiku-like poems spit out from Auster’s gently loquacious pages in unmissable disjunction. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2021 The other underlying regularity of the election is the larger one, easily overlooked, which perhaps governs politics in all the liberal democracies now, and that is the enormous and ever-growing disjunction between urban and rural voters. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021 Still, if past and present, fiction and nonfiction never fully cohere, that formal disjunction nonetheless achieves its own strange power. Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2021 Current practices often hinge on bad data, an approach that exacerbates the disjunction fueling the patchwork of standards against which to measure and report. Andrew Bruce, Forbes, 11 June 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing disjunction
Medical Definition
disjunction
noun
dis·junc·tion dis-ˈjəŋ(k)-shən
: the separation of chromosomes or chromatids during anaphase of mitosis or meiosis