Meaning & use
dissociate
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To state or show that you have no connection with a person, group, or idea.
Grammar: Usually reflexive and followed by from: she dissociated herself from the remarks.
Patterns
- dissociate yourself from someone
- dissociate yourself from something
The company quickly dissociated itself from the scandal.
He tried to dissociate himself from his brother's views.
Several members dissociated themselves from the group's statement.
verbtransitive
To think of two things as separate and unrelated, when they might be linked.
Grammar: Takes an object and from: dissociate one idea from another.
Patterns
- dissociate something from something
It is hard to dissociate the singer from her famous songs.
Some people cannot dissociate hard work from success.
Try to dissociate the problem from the person who raised it.
verbintransitivemedical
To feel mentally cut off from your own thoughts, feelings, or surroundings as a reaction to stress or trauma.
Grammar: No object: patients may dissociate during a panic attack.
Patterns
- dissociate from reality
Under extreme stress, some people dissociate and feel as if they are watching themselves.
She learned to notice when she began to dissociate.
The therapist explained why children may dissociate after trauma.
Word forms
| third person singular | dissociates |
|---|---|
| past tense | dissociated |
| past participle | dissociated |
| -ing form | dissociating |
Common combinations
- dissociate yourself from
- The mayor dissociated himself from the planning decision.
- try to dissociate
- I try to dissociate work worries from my home life.
- dissociate from reality
- In shock, he seemed to dissociate from reality.
- publicly dissociate
- The sponsors publicly dissociated themselves from the event.
- hard to dissociate
- It is hard to dissociate the product from its brand.
Synonyms and how they differ
- distance
- Distance yourself is less formal and slightly softer than dissociate yourself.
- disconnect
- Disconnect is more general and can describe machines as well as people.
- separate
- Separate is neutral and has no sense of publicly rejecting something.
- disown
- Disown is stronger and means to refuse to acknowledge a person as yours.
Opposites
Word family
- dissociation noun
- the act of separating, or a mental state of detachment
- dissociative adjective
- relating to mental dissociation
- associate verb
- to connect in the mind or in dealings
- association noun
- a connection or a group
Commonly confused: dissociate or disassociate?
dissociate vs disassociate
Disassociate is an accepted variant with the same meaning, though dissociate is preferred in careful writing.
Practice
Which preposition completes the sentence? The charity wanted to dissociate itself ___ the donor's remarks.
Choose one answer.
Dissociate is used with from. The opposite verb associate takes with, which is the tempting wrong option.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dissociate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.