Definition of disengage
transitive verb
: to release from something that engages or involves
intransitive verb
: to release or detach oneself : withdraw
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Examples of disengage in a Sentence
The two dancers moved together in a series of quick movements before disengaging and leaping apart.
Put the car in gear, and then slowly disengage the clutch while pressing on the gas pedal.
If there is a malfunction, the gears will automatically disengage.
Recent Examples of disengage from the Web
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Scott Pruitt, Trump’s environmental chief, said exiting doesn’t mean the U.S. is disengaging -- just that Trump had put America’s interests first.
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The researchers could disengage the Jeep's brakes, cause the transmission to malfunction, and, at lower speeds, kill the engine altogether.
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There are limits to how much both the US and Europe could disengage from one another.
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LeBron James had a rare off night, looking oddly disengaged throughout and even more checked out in the second half.
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But while there is broad exasperation about the apparently endless wave of elections and referendums, that doesn’t mean that people are disengaging from democracy on the whole.
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Macron appeared to force Trump to keep shaking hands even after the U.S. leader tried to disengage.
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Despite the sensitive nature of the electronics, when a flight is over, the bots disengage midair and fall safely to the ground where the process can begin anew.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disengage'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of disengage
French désengager, from Middle French, from des- dis- + engager to engage
DISENGAGE Defined for English Language Learners
disengage
playDefinition of disengage for English Language Learners
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: to separate from someone or something
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: to stop being involved with a person or group : to stop taking part in something
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: to move (a mechanism or part of a machine) so that it no longer fits into another part
Learn More about disengage
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See words that rhyme with disengage Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for disengage Spanish Central: Translation of disengage Nglish: Translation of disengage for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of disengage for Arabic speakers
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