segregate

[ verb seg-ri-geyt; noun seg-ri-git, -geyt ]
See synonyms for segregate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),seg·re·gat·ed, seg·re·gat·ing.
  1. to separate or set apart from others or from the main body or group; isolate: to segregate exceptional children; to segregate hardened criminals.

  2. to require, by law or custom, the separation of (an ethnic, racial, religious, or other minority group) from the dominant majority.

verb (used without object),seg·re·gat·ed, seg·re·gat·ing.
  1. to separate, withdraw, or go apart; separate from the main body and collect in one place; become segregated.

  2. to practice, require, or enforce segregation, especially racial segregation.

  1. Genetics. (of allelic genes) to separate during meiosis.

noun
  1. a segregated thing, person, or group.

Origin of segregate

1
1400–50 in sense “segregated”; 1535–45 as transitive v.; late Middle English segregat<Latin sēgregātus (past participle of sēgregāre to part from the flock), equivalent to sē-se- + greg- (stem of grex flock) + -ātus-ate1; see gregarious

Opposites for segregate

Other words from segregate

  • seg·re·ga·ble [seg-ri-guh-buhl], /ˈsɛg rɪ gə bəl/, adjective
  • seg·re·ga·tive, adjective
  • non·seg·re·ga·ble, adjective
  • non·seg·re·ga·tive, adjective
  • re·seg·re·gate, verb, re·seg·re·gat·ed, re·seg·re·gat·ing.
  • un·seg·re·ga·ble, adjective
  • un·seg·re·gat·ing, adjective
  • un·seg·re·ga·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use segregate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for segregate

segregate

/ (ˈsɛɡrɪˌɡeɪt) /


verb
  1. to set or be set apart from others or from the main group

  2. (tr) to impose segregation on (a racial or minority group)

  1. genetics metallurgy to undergo or cause to undergo segregation

Origin of segregate

1
C16: from Latin sēgregāre, from sē- apart + grex a flock

Derived forms of segregate

  • segregable (ˈsɛɡrɪɡəbəl), adjective
  • segregative, adjective
  • segregator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012