bifurcates

verb

present tense third-person singular of bifurcate
as in subdivides
formal to undergo division into two parts The stream bifurcated into two narrow winding channels.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bifurcates While designing the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, in the 1990s, the architect would sit by the river that bifurcates the city, looking at different metal treatments. — Belinda Luscombe, Time, 6 Dec. 2025 For example, Highway 17 currently bifurcates a piece planners hope to lock in through Los Gatos. — San Francisco Chronicle, 30 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bifurcates
  1. divides
  2. separates
  3. splits
Verb
  • Education level divides Americans as well — just 47 percent of Americans without four-year degrees reported believing that science benefits most people, compared to 71 percent of college grads.
    — Nicholas Florko, STAT, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Each cell type is characterized by particular gene-expression settings, which are inherited when a cell divides.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of divides
Verb
  • Visibility separates data that can strengthen an AI workflow from data that has no business being there.
    — Nick Burling, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Action Emergency Management, who is working with the building inspector and fire officials, says a firewall separates the two structures, so residents who live on the left side do not have to evacuate.
    — Louisa Moller, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of separates
Verb
  • The design physically splits the site into two distinct zones.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • After a competition win, Fujino remarks that her dream was to see her manga animated, a comment that temporarily splits the two central characters.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of splits

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Cite this Entry

“Bifurcates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bifurcates. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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