Table of Contents
Definition of Separation
(noun) A temporary break in a marriage that may or may not lead to a divorce.
Separation Pronunciation
Syllabification: sep·a·ra·tion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English - /sep-uhr-rAY-shuhn/
- British English - /se-puh-rAY-shuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English - /ˌsɛpəˈreɪʃən/
- British English - /sɛpəˈreɪʃən/
Usage Notes
- Plural: separations
- In contrast to separation, a divorce is the legal or socially sanctioned termination of a marriage.
- Also called:
- temporary separation
- trial separation
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources - Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “separation” - Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Emery, Robert E., ed. 2013. Cultural Sociology of Divorce: An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
- Hackstaff, Karla B. 1999. Marriage in a Culture of Divorce. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
- Phillips, Roderick. 1988. Putting Asunder: A History of Divorce in Western Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Wallerstein, Judith S., Julia Lewis, and Sandra Blakeslee. 2000. The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25 year Landmark Study. New York: Hyperion.
- Yodanis, C. 2005. “Divorce Culture and Marital Gender Equality: A Cross-national Study.” Gender & Society 19(5):644–59. doi:10.1177/0891243205278166.
Related Terms
- covenant marriage
- deinstitutionalization of marriage
- digamy
- divorce
- marriage
- monogamy
- open marriage
- relative
- remarriage
- single-parent family
Cite the Definition of Separation
ASA - American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “separation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 2, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/separation/).
APA - American Psychological Association (6th edition)
separation. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/separation/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date - Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “separation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/separation/.
MLA - Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“separation.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/separation/>.