segregate

verb

seg·re·gate | \ ˈse-gri-ˌgāt

segregated; segregating

Definition of segregate

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to separate or set apart from others or from the general mass : isolate

2 : to cause or force the separation of (as from the rest of society)

intransitive verb

1 : separate, withdraw

2 : to practice or enforce a policy of segregation

3 : to undergo genetic segregation

segregate

noun

seg·re·gate | \ ˈse-gri-gət

, -ˌgāt\

Definition of segregate (Entry 2 of 2)

: one that is in some respect segregated especially : one that differs genetically from the parental line because of genetic segregation

Other Words from segregate Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about segregate

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Synonyms & Antonyms for segregate

Synonyms: Verb

cut off, insulate, isolate, seclude, separate, sequester

Antonyms: Verb

desegregate, integrate, reintegrate

Did You Know?

The prefix se- means "apart", so when you segregate something you set it apart from the herd. The word typically means separating something undesirable from the healthy majority. During the apple harvest, damaged fruit is segregated from the main crop and used for cider. In prisons, hardened criminals are segregated from youthful offenders. Lepers used to be segregated from the general population because they were thought to be highly infectious. The opposite of segregate is often integrate, and the two words were in the news almost daily for decades as African-Americans struggled to be admitted into all-white schools and neighborhoods.

Examples of segregate in a Sentence

Verb

The civil rights movement fought against practices that segregated blacks and whites. Many states at that time continued to segregate public schools.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Eagly chalks it up to the way women and men are segregated within fields, with women often filling roles that require skills associated more with communion than agency. — Los Angeles Times, "It’s official: Majority of Americans think women are just as competent as men, if not more so," 19 July 2019 The only survivors are living on the titular globe-circumnavigating train, a few thousand folks segregated by social class. — Ew Staff, EW.com, "Comic-Con Must List: The 10 things we're most excited about at Comic-Con 2019," 18 July 2019 Now, many black and Latino students attend schools segregated by both race and poverty, the report found. — latimes.com, "Segregation has soared in America’s schools as federal leaders largely looked away," 8 July 2019 This history matters because America’s schools remain so thoroughly segregated by race. — Jason Sokol, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston aside, busing was a success — and it has a future," 5 July 2019 Public spaces in Saudi Arabia are typically segregated by gender. — Eric Todisco, PEOPLE.com, "Nicki Minaj Set to Perform in Ultra-Conservative Saudi Arabia," 3 July 2019 The facility became a mental hospital for African Americans in 1900s when Alabama was racially segregated by law. — USA TODAY, "Whiskey webs, alien abductions, goldfish invasion: News from around our 50 states," 25 June 2019 Lacey and Larkin started segregating cash; funds from the sale of Backpage went into one set of accounts, while proceeds from the newspaper sale went into another. — Christine Biederman, WIRED, "Inside Backpage.com’s Vicious Battle With the Feds," 18 June 2019 The answer lies in a special entrance for common tourists followed by a maze of long hallways seemingly designed to segregate the hoi polloi from esteemed guests of the hotel. — Washington Post, "The 7 most spectacular views in D.C., ranked," 13 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Other sensitive data, including family trees and DNA data, are stored on segregate systems that are separate from those that house email addresses. — Kirsten Korosec, Fortune, "Ancestry Site MyHeritage Says 92 Million User Accounts Have Been Compromised," 5 June 2018 As public schools re-segregate, the rise in charter schools has not helped this trend. — Lincoln Anthony Blades, Teen Vogue, "Why Brown v Board of Education Is More Important Than Ever," 17 May 2018 There is also another cultural trend that has led many in our nation to ideologically self-segregate, not based on race, but based on ideology. — James Lankford, National Review, "The Best Approach To Racism: Engage Each Other," 19 Aug. 2017

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