separating

6 definitions • 8 examples

present participle of

to (cause to) divide into parts:

The north and south of the country are separated by a mountain range.

You can get a special device for separating egg whites from yolks.

The top and bottom sections are quite difficult to separate.

to make people move apart or into different places, or to move apart:

At school they always tried to separate Jane and me because we were troublemakers.

Somehow, in the rush to get out of the building, I got separated from my mother.

Perhaps we should separate now and meet up later.

to consider two people or things as different or not related:

You can't separate morality from politics.

If a liquid separates, it becomes two different liquids.

to start to live in a different place from your husband or wife because the relationship has ended:

My parents separated when I was six and divorced a couple of years later.