Meaning & use
secede
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Meaning
verbintransitive
To formally withdraw from a federation, union, church, organization, or political body.
Grammar: No object; almost always followed by from: secede from the union.
Patterns
- secede from something
- secede from the union
- vote to secede
- threaten to secede
The region voted to secede from the federation after years of disputes.
Several members threatened to secede from the organization.
Historians still debate why the state tried to secede in 1861.
Word forms
| third person singular | secedes |
|---|---|
| past tense | seceded |
| past participle | seceded |
| -ing form | seceding |
Common combinations
- secede from the union
- The province did not secede from the union, despite heated protests.
- vote to secede
- The assembly voted to secede after negotiations failed.
- threaten to secede
- Small parties sometimes threaten to secede during coalition talks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- withdraw
- General and neutral; secede is specifically formal political withdrawal.
- break away
- More informal and can be physical, while secede is institutional.
- split off
- Suggests a group separating from a larger group, not always legally.
- leave
- Neutral and everyday, but lacks the formal political force of secede.
Opposites
Word family
- secession noun
- The act of formally withdrawing from a union.
- secessionist noun
- A person who supports secession.
Commonly confused: secede or succeed?
secede vs succeed
Secede means withdraw formally; succeed means achieve a goal or come after.
Practice
The region voted to ___ from the national federation.
Choose one answer.
Secede means formally withdraw from a union. Succeed means achieve, precede means come before, and concede means admit defeat; none fit political withdrawal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “secede”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.