dissociate

15 synonyms and 4 antonyms for dissociate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Verb — In psychology, to become mentally detached from your thoughts, feelings, body or surroundings, so that experience feels unreal or distant. It often happens under stress or trauma.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

divorce distance split

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

detach zone out depersonalise decouple disunite disassociate disjoint disown disavow sever ties ionise break down

Synonyms by Meaning

1. verb

In psychology, to become mentally detached from your thoughts, feelings, body or surroundings, so that experience feels unreal or distant. It often happens under stress or trauma.

“She dissociates when the arguments start and can't recall what was said.”

detach zone out depersonalise decouple disunite disassociate disjoint divorce

Opposites

associate

2. verb

To separate yourself from a person, group or idea, especially publicly, so as not to be associated with them.

“The party moved quickly to dissociate itself from the remarks.”

distance disown disavow sever ties

Opposites

associate align ally

3. verb

In chemistry, to split into smaller particles such as ions, atoms or simpler molecules, often reversibly.

“In water, the salt dissociates into sodium and chloride ions.”

ionise break down split

Opposites

associate recombine

How to use dissociate

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

dissociate from reality dissociate himself from dissociates into ions

Neutral; the psychological sense has moved from clinical into everyday speech.

Etymology

From Latin dissociare 'to separate', from dis- 'apart' plus sociare 'to join', from socius 'companion'.

Full origin of dissociate →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between dissociate and disassociate?

They mean the same thing and both are accepted, but dissociate is the older, shorter and preferred form in careful writing, and it is the only one used in psychology and chemistry. Disassociate turns up mainly in the 'distance yourself' sense.

What does dissociating feel like?

People describe it as feeling foggy, numb, or as though they are watching themselves from outside, with time and surroundings seeming unreal. Brief episodes are common under stress; frequent or prolonged dissociation is worth raising with a clinician.

People also searched

distance split divorce associate ally align disassociate recombine disjoint disunite disavow disown

Nearby words

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