Meaning & use
separate
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To move or keep two or more things or people apart, or to divide something into parts.
Grammar: Takes an object (separate the eggs) or none (the crowd separated).
Patterns
- separate something from something
- separate into groups
Please separate the white clothes from the colored ones.
A narrow channel separates the island from the mainland.
The crowd slowly separated as the police arrived.
verbintransitive
To stop living together as a couple without formally ending the marriage.
Grammar: No object; often used with from: she separated from her husband.
Patterns
- separate from someone
They separated last year but have not divorced.
She separated from her partner after ten years.
The couple separated for a trial period.
adjectivecomparable
Not joined to, or not the same as, something else; distinct or independent.
Grammar: In the adjective, the last syllable is pronounced like 'it', not 'ate'.
Patterns
- separate from something
- a separate matter
We booked separate rooms at the hotel.
That is a separate issue and we can discuss it later.
The twins have separate friends.
Word forms
| third person singular | separates |
|---|---|
| past tense | separated |
| past participle | separated |
| -ing form | separating |
Common combinations
- separate ways
- After graduation, they went their separate ways.
- separate from
- Keep the raw meat separate from other food.
- separate bills
- Could we have separate bills, please?
- clearly separate
- The two topics should stay clearly separate.
- separate the wheat from the chaff
- The test helps separate the wheat from the chaff.
- separate into
- The class separated into three groups.
Synonyms and how they differ
- divide
- Divide stresses cutting something into shares or parts, while separate can mean simply keeping things apart.
- detach
- Detach means to unfasten something that was attached, which is narrower than separate.
- distinct
- Distinct as an adjective stresses clear difference, while separate stresses not being joined.
- split up
- Split up is the informal phrase for ending a relationship or breaking a group apart.
Opposites
Word family
- separation noun
- the act or state of being apart
- separately adverb
- apart from others
- separable adjective
- able to be divided
- separator noun
- something that keeps things apart
- separatist noun
- someone who wants a region to become independent
Commonly confused: separate or seperate?
separate vs seperate
This is a very common misspelling; the correct form has 'par' in the middle, as in sepa-rate.
Practice
Which spelling is correct?
Choose one answer.
Separate has 'par' in the middle. The other options are common misspellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “separate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.