Meaning & use
desegregate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To end the policy of separating people by race in schools or other public places.
Grammar: Takes an object: desegregate schools. Often used in passive: The schools were desegregated.
Patterns
- desegregate something
- be desegregated
The court ordered the city to desegregate its public schools.
Many Southern universities were desegregated in the 1960s.
The new law aimed to desegregate public transportation.
verbintransitive
To become integrated after a period of racial separation.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'by' or 'over time'.
Patterns
- desegregate by something
- desegregate over time
The schools desegregated gradually over the next decade.
The military desegregated by executive order in 1948.
Word forms
| third person singular | desegregates |
|---|---|
| past tense | desegregated |
| past participle | desegregated |
| -ing form | desegregating |
Common combinations
- desegregate schools
- The government took steps to desegregate schools across the state.
- desegregate public facilities
- Activists pushed to desegregate public facilities like buses and parks.
- court-ordered desegregation
- The court-ordered desegregation plan faced strong opposition.
Synonyms and how they differ
- integrate
- Integrate is broader, meaning to combine parts into a whole; desegregate specifically means ending racial separation.
Opposites
Word family
- desegregation noun
- The process of ending racial separation.
- desegregationist noun
- A person who supports desegregation.
Commonly confused: desegregate or dissociate?
desegregate vs dissociate
Dissociate means to disconnect or separate mentally; desegregate means to end racial separation.
Practice
The 1954 Supreme Court decision helped ___ public schools in the United States.
Choose one answer.
'Desegregate' means to end racial separation, which fits the historical context. 'Segregate' means the opposite, 'dissociate' means to disconnect, and 'delegate' means to assign tasks.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “desegregate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.