as in separating
to set or force apart
disapproving parents who were willing to do anything to sever the young lovers
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Recent Examples of severing
Judge Thomas Lyons, presiding judge of the Law Division, granted a motion from the city of Chicago to split the trial in two, severing the claims of negligent hiring by the city from the allegations around the shooting by Officer Eric Stillman.
—
Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026
The Courant has reported, most colonists were not exactly mesmerized by the notion of severing ties with the mother country.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026
In October, Patel said the bureau was severing its ties with SPLC, following escalating complaints from conservatives and prominent Trump allies.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026
The Jeep struck a semaphore pole, severing the vehicle in two.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2026
Chinese vessels have been caught secretly severing undersea communication cables in Taiwan’s waters.
—Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026
After watching his ball go into the bunker, the LIV golfer then attacked a nearby water cooler, severing the head of the club from its shaft.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Afreximbank leaned on Asian capital markets to keep lending on track after severing ties with ratings agency Fitch earlier this year.
—Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 10 Apr. 2026
Israeli ground troops have razed residential buildings while airstrikes have hit multiple bridges severing vital routes between southern Lebanon and the north.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026
The Courant has reported, most colonists were not exactly mesmerized by the notion of severing ties with the mother country.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026
In October, Patel said the bureau was severing its ties with SPLC, following escalating complaints from conservatives and prominent Trump allies.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026
The Jeep struck a semaphore pole, severing the vehicle in two.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 16 Apr. 2026
Chinese vessels have been caught secretly severing undersea communication cables in Taiwan’s waters.
—Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026
After watching his ball go into the bunker, the LIV golfer then attacked a nearby water cooler, severing the head of the club from its shaft.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Afreximbank leaned on Asian capital markets to keep lending on track after severing ties with ratings agency Fitch earlier this year.
—Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 10 Apr. 2026
Israeli ground troops have razed residential buildings while airstrikes have hit multiple bridges severing vital routes between southern Lebanon and the north.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for severing
Verb
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Next, Butac arranges a bunch of the beans on two trays and roasts them for a specific amount of time before separating the shells from the beans and then running the bean fragments, also known as nibs, through a mill.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
10 May 2026
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Still, robotics has a long history of inflated expectations, making many executives cautious about separating breakthrough potential from hype.—
Dr. Jonathan Reichental,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Calculated by dividing the number of at-bats by home runs.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
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Colbert grilled the former president on the topic dividing the city, baseball.—
Elyssa Kaufman,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Verb
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The commissioners differed on how this should work, splitting into three broad camps with some overlap and intersection particular issues.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
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The tree branches are also weakly attached to the trunks and prone to splitting apart during storms and harsh weather events, Zieche said.—
Jerry Wu,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
Verb
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Features like front and rear locking differentials and a disconnecting front stabilizer bar help the truck crawl over obstacles that would challenge most pickups.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Apr. 2026
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There are several natural gas marketers in the state, but the commission said Atlanta Gas Light is still responsible for the pipelines and connecting and disconnecting service.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Severing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/severing. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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