1. The act of dividing or disconnecting
   "The separation of the spacecraft from the rocket booster was successful"
    
2. The state of lacking unity
   "The separation between management and workers hindered productivity"
    
3. Coming apart
   "The separation of the rocket stages was successful";
   - breakup, detachment
    
4. The social act of separating or parting company
   "the separation of church and state"
    
5. (law) the cessation of cohabitation of man and wife (either by mutual agreement or under a court order)
   "The couple opted for a legal separation instead of divorce";
   - legal separation
    
6. The termination of employment (by resignation or dismissal)
   "His separation from the company was amicable"
    
7. The distance between things
   "fragile items require separation and cushioning";
   - interval
    
8. Sorting one thing from others
   "the separation of wheat from chaff"; "the separation of mail by postal zones"
    
9. The space where a division or parting occurs
   "he hid in the separation between walls"
    
10. The process of separating a mixture into its component parts
    "The separation of cream from milk"

Derived forms: separations

See also: separate

Type of: alteration, cessation, change, change of integrity, distance, final result, group action, modification, outcome, result, resultant, sorting, space, state, surcease [archaic]

Antonym: unification

Encyclopedia: Separation