separation

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

sep·ar·ation [separation separations] BrE [ˌsepəˈreɪʃn] NAmE [ˌsepəˈreɪʃn] noun
1. uncountable, singular the act of separating people or things; the state of being separate
•~ (from sb/sth) the state's eventual separation from the federation
•~ (between A and B) the need for a clear separation between Church and State
2. countable a period of time that people spend apart from each other
• They were reunited after a separation of more than 20 years.
• Prolonged separations of this kind are damaging to very young children.
3. countable a decision that a husband and wife make to live apart while they are still legally married
•a legal separation
• Sixty per cent of all marital separations occur before the tenth year of marriage.
compare ↑divorce

Word Origin:
late Middle English: via Old French from Latin separatio(n-), from separare ‘disjoin, divide’, from se- ‘apart’ + parare ‘prepare’.

Thesaurus:
separation noun U, sing.
•He argued for the need for a clear separation between Church and State.
isolation • • division • • segregation • • split • • partition • |formal dissolution •
separation/isolation/division/segregation from sb/sth
separation/division/segregation/split between A and B
separation/division/segregation/split into parts
Separation or isolation? Isolation is used of a country or its politics
•diplomatic/geographical/political/international isolation
This kind of isolation is usually seen as a bad thing. Separation is a more general word and is often seen as a good thing.

Example Bank:
•She is visiting her family after a long separation.
•the clear separation of powers between the executive and the legislature
•the constitutional principle of separation of powers
•the constitutional separation of church and state
•the separation between Mary and her husband
•the separation from his wife
•the separation of children from their parents during the war
•All children will tend to suffer from separation from their parents, siblings and familiar surroundings.
•He argued for the need for a clear separation between Church and State.
•Many years passed before the state's eventual separation from the federation.
•She would not consider separation or divorce.

• Từ đồng nghĩa / Synonyms:
  legal separation, interval, breakup, detachment
• Từ trái nghĩa / Antonyms:
  union, unification