noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S EH1 P ER0 AH0 T IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A theory or doctrine which supports a state of separation between organizations, institutions, or other societal groups (e.g. between church and state) or between different political jurisdictions (e.g. a country and its former colony).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
She wrote an essay expounding the tenets of Scottish separatism.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The practice of treating members of different societal groups in a politically, legally, or economically different manner.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Apartheid was a government-enforced form of separatism in which people received unequal social benefits based on race.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
advocacy of a policy of strict separation of church and state
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: separationism
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: separation
4
noun
Meaning 4
a disposition toward schism and secession from a larger group; the principles and practices of separatists
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
separatism is a serious problem in Quebec
demands for some form of separatism on grounds of religion have been perceived as a threat to mainstream education
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: disposition
5
noun
Meaning 5
a social system that provides separate facilities for minority groups
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: segregation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: social organization, social organisation, social structure, social system, structure
Narrower terms: racial segregation, de facto segregation, de jure segregation, purdah, sex segregation, white separatism
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English separate Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English separatism From separate + -ism.
Across languages
Translations
54 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
اِنْفِصَالِيَّة
(infiṣāliyya)
— theory or doctrine
Arabic:
اِنْشِقَاقِيَّة
(inšiqāqiyya)
— theory or doctrine
Armenian:
անջատականություն
(anǰatakanutʻyun)
— theory or doctrine
Azerbaijani:
separatçılıq
— theory or doctrine
Belarusian:
сепараты́зм
(sjeparatýzm)
— theory or doctrine
Bengali:
বিচ্ছিন্নতাবাদ
(bicchinnotabad)
— theory or doctrine
Bulgarian:
сепарати́зъм
(separatízǎm)
— theory or doctrine
Catalan:
separatisme
— theory or doctrine
Chinese Mandarin:
分離主義 /分离主义
(fēnlízhǔyì)
— theory or doctrine
Chinese Mandarin:
分裂主義 /分裂主义
(fēnliězhǔyì)
— theory or doctrine
Czech:
separatismus
— theory or doctrine
Danish:
separatisme
— theory or doctrine
Dutch:
separatisme
— theory or doctrine
Estonian:
separatism
— theory or doctrine
Finnish:
separatismi
— theory or doctrine
French:
séparatisme
— theory or doctrine
Galician:
separatismo
— theory or doctrine
Georgian:
სეპარატიზმი
(seṗaraṭizmi)
— theory or doctrine
German:
Separatismus
— theory or doctrine
Hebrew:
בַּדלָנוּת
(badlanút)
— theory or doctrine
Hindi:
अलगाववाद
(algāvvād)
— theory or doctrine
Hindi:
पृथकतावाद
(pŕthaktāvād)
— theory or doctrine
Hungarian:
szeparatizmus
— theory or doctrine
Indonesian:
separatisme
— theory or doctrine
Italian:
separatismo
— theory or doctrine
Japanese:
分離主義
(bunrishugi)
— theory or doctrine
Kazakh:
жікшілдік
(jıkşıldık)
— theory or doctrine
Korean:
분리주의
(bullijuui)
— theory or doctrine
Central Kurdish:
جیاخوازی
(cyaxwazî)
— theory or doctrine
Kyrgyz:
сепаратизм
(separatizm)
— theory or doctrine
Latvian:
separātisms
— theory or doctrine
Lithuanian:
separatizmas
— theory or doctrine
Macedonian:
сепарати́зам
(separatízam)
— theory or doctrine
Malayalam:
വിഘടനവാദം
(vighaṭanavādaṁ)
— theory or doctrine
Norwegian Bokmål:
separatisme
— theory or doctrine
Occitan:
separatisme
— theory or doctrine
Persian:
جداییخواهی
(jodâyi-xâhi)
— theory or doctrine
Polish:
separatyzm
— theory or doctrine
Portuguese:
separatismo
— theory or doctrine
Russian:
сепарати́зм
(separatízm)
— theory or doctrine
Scots:
separatism
— theory or doctrine
Serbo-Croatian:
сепаратизам
— theory or doctrine
Serbo-Croatian:
separatizam
— theory or doctrine
Slovak:
separatizmus
— theory or doctrine
Slovene:
separatizem
— theory or doctrine
Spanish:
separatismo
— theory or doctrine
Swedish:
separatism
— theory or doctrine
Tajik:
ҷудоихоҳӣ
(judoyixohi)
— theory or doctrine
Thai:
คตินิยมการแยกตัวออก
— theory or doctrine
Turkish:
ayrılıkçılık
— theory or doctrine
Ukrainian:
сепарати́зм
(separatýzm)
— theory or doctrine
Uzbek:
separatizm
— theory or doctrine
Vietnamese:
chủ nghĩa phân lập
— theory or doctrine
Finnish:
erottelu
— practice of treating members of different societal groups in a different manner
