disassociate

play

verb dis·as·so·ci·ate \ ˌdis-ə-ˈsō-sē-ˌāt , -shē- \

Definition of disassociate

transitive verb

:to detach from association :dissociate

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disassociation

play \-ˌsō-sē-ˈā-shən, -shē-\ noun

See disassociate defined for English-language learners

Examples of disassociate in a Sentence

the company tried to disassociate itself from the rest of the industry, which is widely viewed as corrupt

Recent Examples of disassociate from the Web

Colleges have been formally disassociating themselves from coaches, boosters and former players for decades.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Former Louisville basketball players who didn't talk to NCAA can't complain | Tim Sullivan," 28 Aug. 2017
Former Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze exchanged hundreds of phone calls in the last three years to disassociated booster Lee Harris over a three-year period, according to a report Friday by USA Today.

— creg stephenson, AL.com, "Hugh Freeze reportedly called disassociated Ole Miss booster hundreds of times," 18 Aug. 2017
The effect is the opposite: instead of the reader being distracted from their disgust by marvelous details (see: Death in Venice, Lolita), the author disassociates herself from the discomfort, refusing to take the reader with her.

— josephine livingstone, New Republic, "Telling the Story of Incest," 4 Aug. 2017
Five organizations have suspended the pirates or disassociated with them because of problematic behavior.

— maya sweedler, The Seattle Times, "Rowdy Seafair Pirates no longer welcome at some festivals," 3 Aug. 2017
Putting the ultimate decision in the hands of the arbitrator gives union leaders an opportunity to disassociate themselves from any contract provision that may anger the membership.

— maya dukmasova, Chicago Reader, "Criminal Justice / News Why Chicago police reform may be decided by one person behind closed doors," 28 July 2017
By contrast, voters warmed to mob-busting Italian-American prosecutors such as Rudy Giuliani, who thought the best way to disassociate yourself from the bad guys was to lock them up.

— dan mclaughlin, National Review, "Anti-Radical Muslims Need to Organize and Draw Lines," 20 July 2017
After her father was elected, Ivanka disassociated herself from her eponymous clothing and accessories line.

— sarah ellison, The Hive, "The Inside Story of the Kushner-Bannon Civil War," 19 June 2017
The site’s gravest problem may be the wholesale flight of advertisers, who have been pressured by anti-Trump forces to disassociate themselves from any outlet friendly to his administration.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "Breitbart News, Donald Trump’s Pravda, Is in Crisis," 15 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disassociate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.