dissever

/dəˈsɛvər/

Other forms: dissevered; dissevering; dissevers

To dissever is to separate or divide something. If you spend too much time staring at screens, you might want to dissever yourself from technology and go camping this weekend.

These days, the verb dissever is considered old-fashioned or primarily literary — you're more likely to use words like sever or detach. It can be useful if you need a more poetic way to talk about dividing things, though: "Don't go to Maine for the summer; I can't bear to dissever my heart from yours!" Dissever comes from a Latin root, separare, "to pull apart."

Definitions of dissever

1. verb

   separate into parts or portions
   synonyms: carve up, divide, divvy, separate, split, split up

   types:

   subdivide

   divide into smaller and smaller pieces

   format, initialise, initialize

   divide (a disk) into marked sectors so that it may store data

   sectionalise, sectionalize

   divide into sections, especially into geographic sections

   triangulate

   divide into triangles or give a triangular form to

   unitise, unitize

   divide (bulk material) and process as units

   lot

   divide into lots, as of land, for example

   parcel

   divide into parts

   sliver, splinter

   divide into slivers or splinters

   paragraph

   divide into paragraphs, as of text

   canton

   divide into cantons, of a country

   Balkanise, Balkanize

   divide a territory into small, hostile states

   type of:

   change integrity

   change in physical make-up