SEVERANCE Synonyms: 95 Similar and Opposite Words

severance

noun

Definition of severance

as in divorce

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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 severance Meg Scheding learned from an attorney friend to negotiate her severance agreement after she was laid off in 2018 months after giving birth. — Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026 Sky has now served Kavanagh with its defense in relation to the severance payment issue, which is being contested at the High Court. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026 Selberg will retain the same health insurance coverage for a year and Collierville will deduct from his severance payments. — Corey Davis, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 27 Aug. 2026 The staff would have to begin to go even sooner than the shareholders; Fried Frank, in its presentation, estimated between $20 and $24 million in severance and $75 million in union termination. — Noah Shachtman, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for severance

Recent Examples of Synonyms for severance

Noun

Lowe, now a father to sons Matthew, 33, and John Owen, 30, grew up in Dayton, Ohio, before moving to California after his parents’ divorce.

— Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
In 2023, Swift let Turner stay at her place in New York during her divorce from Jonas, and the two seemed to bond over dinners out in the city.

— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of divorce

Noun

Dakota Johnson and Colin Ferrell amping up the tension, which ultimately has reverberations that go beyond just a bad breakup.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026
UConn was a full member of the AAC from 2013-19, after the breakup of the original Big East, then in 2020 rejoined the new Big East most sports and became an FBS independent in football.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of breakup

Noun

Amy Schumer and her estranged husband, Chris Fischer, have reached a divorce agreement nearly one year after announcing their split, according to reports.

— Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
The pair didn’t officially file for divorce until two years later in 2017, and finalized their split the following year.

— Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of split

Noun

We’re told there’s some troubling family history in their background that might have led to their estrangement, though it’s not really shown.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
The flames of perdition, fueled by guilt, estrangement, and repression, lap at society’s sham institutions and flimsy fronts of civility.

— Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of estrangement

Noun

In a rare occurrence, Bardot’s 80-minute AI drama that, according to the synopsis, examines contemporary alienation and numbness in today’s world of hyper-connectivity, is set for a spring 2027 release across 20 cities in Turkey via Baska Sinema.

— Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
Kaczynski was reportedly chosen in part for his score on a questionnaire measuring alienation, not because anyone had identified him as a budding radical thinker.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of alienation

Noun

Scientists physically extract venom from a living animal, then use routine lab techniques to separate the sample into individual components, in a process known as fractionation.

— Steve Midway, STAT, 16 July 2026
Decarbonizing air travel The purification and fractionation steps are being developed jointly by scientists from TU Graz, the University of Zagreb in Croatia, and Portugal’s national energy laboratory (LNEG).

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 Dec. 2025

Definition of fractionation

Noun

As Trump slides toward lame-duck status, cleavages within the group and between it and traditional progressives are becoming more salient.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2026
Tehrani-Bagha said the decline results from some cellulose-chain cleavage during the treatments but should not prevent the material from undergoing further chemical recycling.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of cleavage

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severally

severance

severances

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Style

“Severance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/severance. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of severance

noun

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