separationnoun
uk/ˌsep.ərˈeɪ.ʃən/us/ˌsep.əˈreɪ.ʃən/B2 [ U or S ] a situation in which two or more people or things are separated:
During the war many couples had to endure long periods of separation (= not being together).
After many years the South African government finally abandoned its apartheid system of racial separation.
B2 [ C or U ] an arrangement, often legal, by which two married people stop living together as a couple:
Couples may agree to divorce each other after a separation.
They're considering separation as an option.
More examples
- the pain of separation
- One common cause of homelessness is separation or divorce.
- We thought we'd try a period of separation.
- In most cases, separation is followed by divorce.
- I suggested a trial separation.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Separateness and isolation in space
- apart
- atomistic
- atomized
- bitty
- cloistered
- distance
- distance yourself from sth
- divorced
- freely
- give sth/sb a wide berth idiom
- hermetically sealed
- loose
- loosely
- parted
- privacy
- private
- purdah
- uninhabited
- untethered
- wide
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Court cases, orders & decisions
Relationships: ending & divorce