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secession

UK/səˈsɛʃən/US/səˈsɛʃən/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #15,182 of 15,258mostly written

Secession is breaking away from a country to form a new one. The secession of the South, threaten secession, a secession referendum.

Almost no constitution allows it, which is why it usually ends in war or in a negotiated exception. The American Civil War began with the secession of eleven states, and the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia in 1993 is the standard counter-example.

Definitions of secession

  1. 1nounsecessionBreaking away from a country to form a new one.C1

    “Talk of secession grew as the northern province demanded its own flag and army.”

secession is a breaking away.

Where it comes from

Latin secessio means a withdrawing, from secedere — se, apart, plus cedere, to go.

  1. Latin

    sēcessiō — a withdrawing

  2. English, today

    secession

From Latin sēcessiō (“a withdrawing”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Politics & Society

Practise this word

secession in the wild

  • Threats of secession may be used to obtain greater autonomy or other political concessions short of independence.

    Secession

  • Of the various secessions, the Vienna Secession remains the most influential.

    Secession (art)

  • South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas also issued separate documents purporting to justify secession.

    Ordinance of Secession

  • Two other Southern states, Missouri and Kentucky, attempted secession ineffectively or only by irregular means.

    Ordinance of Secession

  • Authors report different numbers for how many secessions there were.

    Secessio plebis

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.