dissociate

verb

dis·so·ci·ate (ˌ)di-ˈsō-shē-ˌāt

-sē-

dissociated; dissociating

Synonyms of dissociate next

transitive verb

: to separate from association or union with another

attempts to dissociate herself from her past

: disunite

specifically : to subject to chemical dissociation

intransitive verb

: to undergo dissociation

: to mutate especially reversibly

Did you know?

Dissociate and its synonym disassociate can both mean "to separate from association or union with another." Associate is from Latin ad-, meaning "to," and sociare, meaning "to join." Dis- in this case means "do the opposite of," so both dissociate and disassociate indicate severing that which is united. Some commentators, however, argue that disassociate is illogical because it indicates separating and uniting simultaneously. Dissociate is slightly older, appearing in the late 16th century, whereas early evidence of disassociate is found in the beginning decade of the next century. Dissociate is recommended by a number of commentators on the basis that it is shorter, which it is by a grand total of two letters—not the firmest ground for an endorsement. Both words are in current good use, but disassociate is used more often in the U.S.

Example Sentences

The director has tried to dissociate himself from his earlier films. Why is the organization choosing to dissociate itself from its founder?

Recent Examples on the Web Uncle Ruckus is another character from the show who is notable because of his disdain for Black people and enjoys dissociating himself from other Black Americans. —

Kris Marsh, The Conversation, 15 Mar. 2023 After that, Ella began to dissociate into younger parts more often during therapy. —

Rebecca J. Lester, Scientific American, 16 May 2023 In her sophomore year at Interlochen, Emma began dissociating, wandering the Michigan campus in the snow. —

Beatrice Hazlehurst, ELLE, 26 Apr. 2023 In 2014 the temple promoted a Black Mass at Harvard University that prompted the archdiocese to call on the institution to dissociate from the temple. —

Dennis Romero, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2023 In the weeks leading up to the murder, the teenager began to withdraw and dissociate from reality, Gunsberg said. —

Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2023 Almost like we’ve been given a button to dissociate, or something. —

Daisy Jones, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2023 If her father copes by ruing his mistakes—drinking copiously, reminiscing, and generally agonizing— Freddie copes by dissociating. —

Jasmine Liu, The New Republic, 21 Mar. 2023 From time to time, Democratic politicians, like Biden in his State of the Union address on March 1, try to dissociate themselves from unpopular ideas such as defunding the police, but the cultural Left within the party is still more deferred to than opposed or ignored. —

Ruy Teixeira, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dissociate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.