separate

The word “separate” means to divide something into parts, or to keep things or people apart from each other. In plain terms, to divide or split apart, or (as an adjective) distinct and not joined together.

“Separate” is pronounced SEHP-uh-rayt (/ˈsɛp.əˌɹeɪt/ in IPA).

Here is “separate” used in a sentence: “Separate the eggs before you start baking.”

Words with a similar meaning to “separate” include detached, discrete, distinct, disparate, loose and sundry.

The opposite of “separate” — its antonyms — are annex, combine, coherent, conjunct and indistinct.

Depending on how it is used, “separate” can be a verb and an adjective.

The word “separate” comes from Latin. From Latin separatus, past participle of separo, "to separate," from se- ("apart") + paro ("prepare").

“Separate” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

To separate means to keep or set things apart so they no longer touch or mix, without necessarily splitting one thing up. To divide means to break a single whole into parts, often into shares. You separate two arguing children; you divide a cake. There is overlap, but divide stresses partition while separate stresses keeping apart.

Separate is the correct spelling, with an 'a' in the middle — sep-a-rate. 'Seperate' is one of the most common misspellings in English. A useful memory trick is that there is 'a rat' hidden in sep-a-rat-e. The same middle 'a' appears in the noun separation and the adverb separately.

The main opposites are join, combine, unite, connect, and merge. Where separate means to divide or keep apart, these describe bringing things together into one. For people, the opposite of separating is reuniting or reconciling. The right antonym depends on context — you rejoin what was split and reconnect what was disconnected.

Everyday examples include sorting laundry into whites and colours, splitting a class into small groups, or pulling apart two pieces of stuck paper. In cooking you separate an egg white from the yolk. In relationships, a couple may separate by living apart. Each case shares the core idea of keeping things apart.