secede

verb

se·​cede si-ˈsēd 

seceded; seceding

intransitive verb

: to withdraw from an organization (such as a religious communion or political party or federation)

seceder noun

Examples of secede in a Sentence

South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860.

Recent Examples on the Web

The address issue has long been contentious in artsy Carmel-by-the-Sea, where residents once threatened to secede from California if they were forced to number their homes. —Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

The essay needed to be written because no prominent voices are addressing the distinct possibility that Iran’s ethnics might secede, chiefly the larger ones with kin across borders. —Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

Last year, Turkey reached a historic turning point in its decades-long conflict with militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after the group renounced violence and ambitions to secede. —Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 14 Jan. 2026

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in an acrimonious parting of the ways following a referendum in which 99 percent of South Sudanese backed independence. —Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin secedere, from sed-, se- apart (from sed, se without) + cedere to go — more at suicide

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for secede

• accede
• agreed
• airspeed
• alkyd
• bindweed
• chickweed
• concede
• decreed
• duckweed
• exceed
• flaxseed
• impede

Kids Definition

secede

verb

se·​cede si-ˈsēd 

seceded; seceding

: to withdraw from an organization (as a nation, church, or political party)