What does separate mean?
Separate describes something that is distinct from another thing, stands apart from it, or has its own identity. It can also refer to a division in status, responsibility, or treatment, as in a separate account or a separate decision. As a verb, separate means to move, keep, or set things apart, or to distinguish one person or thing from another. The word is used in everyday, academic, legal, and administrative contexts, where it often suggests a clear boundary rather than a complete absence of relationship. For example, two departments may handle different responsibilities while remaining part of the same organization. In the phrase “go your separate ways,” the word carries the additional sense of people diverging in direction or life after previously being together.
Existing apart from something else; distinct or not connected with it.
"Each application is reviewed by a separate panel."
Can also mean belonging to a distinct unit, category, or arrangement.
To move, keep, or set people or things apart; to distinguish one thing from another.
"The teacher separated the students into two groups."
In its intransitive use, it can mean to leave or go apart from someone.
A person or thing that is separate from, or set apart from, someone or something else.
"The two countries agreed to negotiate as separate parties."
This noun sense is relatively uncommon and is most often encountered in formal contexts.
The plural is used when referring to multiple people or things that are distinct from others.
"The two separates continued to pursue their own careers."
From the Latin separare, meaning “to set apart,” separate has long described the act of drawing a boundary between people, objects, or ideas.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of separate
Separate comes through Old French from Latin separare, formed from se- and parare, with the basic sense of setting apart or arranging one thing from another. The English word developed meanings including “to part,” “distinguish,” and “keep apart,” while the adjective inherited the sense of being distinct or apart. Related English words include sever and segregate, which likewise express division or setting apart.
Related word forms
How separate is actually used
In formal and legal contexts, separate often emphasizes distinct treatment, ownership, or status: separate accounts, a separate agreement, or separate identities. As a noun, separate is relatively uncommon and may sound formal or literary.
Easily confused with separate
Separate means apart or distinct from something else, whereas desperate means hopeless or in great need.
Separate describes something that is already apart or distinct, while separable means capable of being separated.