detachment

Definition of detachmentnext
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as in patrol
a small military unit with a special task or function the general sent a detachment ahead to scout the enemy's position

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 detachment The hardest thing for me still is to bring detachment to the things that are outside my control. Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 14 Apr. 2026 His few lines of dialogue have a power that far exceeds their word count, but what speaks for Jeremy most of the time are his physical gestures, which blend blank detachment with willful ferocity. Richard Brody, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026 Kelly’s videos, delivered in her distinctive, pitchy voice (think Valley girl with notes of humdrum detachment a la the famously monotone comedian Ben Stein), are both personal and woven with running gags. Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2026 Her early death, after an illness that the father initially contrives to ignore then notices just in time to capture her desperation in a fine sketch, leaves Mimí utterly disoriented, yearning only to achieve a level of self-control and detachment that will spare him their tumultuous struggle. Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for detachment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detachment
Noun
  • Faced with these criticisms, SEJ affirmed its commitment to ethical journalism centered on objectivity and balanced news reporting.
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 May 2026
  • The vast majority of parents have very little objectivity about their childrens' athletic ability.
    Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The union, which represents animal care specialists, patrol officers, custodians, groundskeepers, patrol officers, aides and seasonal workers, said the zoo's last contract offer would have taken away their health care plan without providing a comparable alternative.
    Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 6 May 2026
  • Aurora police credited proactive patrol work and real-time technology with getting Barnes off the streets before the situation could escalate further.
    Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Noun
  • When Charles was set to come face to face with one of the brightest, youngest faces of American politics, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, he was met with only a coldness and reminder of the crimes of British imperialism.
    Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
  • The term implies godlike deftness and speed but also a certain impersonal coldness — skill at the expense of passion.
    Justin Davidson, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • So, when republican France went to war with its monarchical neighbors, President Washington declared neutrality.
    Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • Under the umbrella of Saudi Vision 2030, the nation is pivoting toward a diverse, sustainable economy with an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
    FMG Studios, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • On March 30, soldiers from the battalion detained a CNN team covering settler violence in the village of Tayasir in the West Bank.
    Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The military site at Kapciamiestis covering some 14,600 hectares will allow battalion and brigade-size drills on the ground at a critical land link used by the alliance to send reinforcements to its eastern flank.
    Milda Seputyte, Bloomberg, 23 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Eliot loved hearing Claire talk about people, her combination of warmth and dispassion.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025
  • In the play’s most striking image, the dead sit in the Grover’s Corners graveyard in rows—rather like a theatre audience—watching the living with quiet dispassion.
    Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • India, an avatar of forceful neutralism early on, saw its influence diminished by regional conflict and domestic troubles.
    Erez Manela, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021
  • Globalizing impulses helped bring about a flourishing of neutralism.
    Leo Robson, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2016
Noun
  • Darth Vader’s search for Luke Skywalker has brought him to Batuu with a squadron of Imperial Stormtroopers now that Walt Disney Imagineering has expanded the Star Wars timeline in Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge to include the original trilogy of movies.
    Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 29 Apr. 2026
  • The Navy pilot had been shot down while leading his squadron on a mission over North Vietnam.
    Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Detachment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detachment. Accessed 10 May. 2026.

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