Dissociate: meaning, definitions and examples

Used when someone wants to emphasize separating themselves mentally or emotionally from something. Commonly used in psychological or formal contexts.

• She tried to dissociate herself from the guilt.
• He wants to dissociate from his past mistakes.

Commonly used in technical or digital contexts, as well as to express a break in communication or understanding.

• Please disconnect the phone from the charger.
• There seems to be a disconnect between the team's objectives and the project plan.

Used when emphasizing a physical or emotional disconnection. Often found in both everyday and formal language.

• He needed to detach the cable from the device.
• She tried to detach herself from the situation emotionally.

Most frequently used in everyday situations to describe both physical and emotional division. It's the most versatile in terms of contexts.

• You need to separate the egg whites from the yolks.
• They decided to separate after years of marriage.

Dissociate is often used in a scientific or psychological context to describe the separation of elements, molecules, or mental processes.

• Researchers observed how the compound would dissociate in water.
• During the traumatic event, she began to dissociate from reality.

Split is used to describe the division of something into parts, whether it's physical objects, groups, or opinions.

• They decided to split the money equally among themselves.
• There was a split in the organization over the new policy.

Decompose is typically used in scientific and environmental contexts to describe the breakdown of organic matter into simpler forms over time.

• Leaves decompose to create rich soil in the forest.
• The animal's body began to decompose soon after it died.

Break down is commonly used in everyday language to describe the process of something being separated into smaller parts, whether it's a physical object, a chemical compound, or a complex idea.

• The food will break down in your stomach.
• Can you break down the assignment into smaller tasks?