separates

UK: /ˈsɛp^ərəts/

From the verb separate: (⇒ conjugate)

separates is: ⓘ

v 3rd person singular

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

separates / ˈsɛprɪts ˈsɛpərɪts/ noun:plural

1. women's outer garments that only cover part of the body and so are worn in combination with others, usually unmatching; skirts, blouses, jackets, trousers, etc
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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

sep•a•rate /v. ˈsɛpəˌreɪt; adj., n. -ərɪt/   v., -rat•ed, -rat•ing, adj., n. 
v. 

1. to (cause to) come or draw apart;
   divide: [~ + object]
   to separate two fighting boys.
   [~ + object + from + object]
   The school separates the boys from the girls.
   [no object]
   The two fighters separated, then went after each other again.
2. to divide into pieces: [~ + object]
   Separate the strips of bacon and fry them individually.
   [no object]
   After defrosting, the strips of bacon will separate easily.
3. to (cause to) become extracted: [~ + object]
   to separate metal from ore.
   [no object]
   The metal easily separates from the ore.
4. to stop living together but without divorce:
   [no object] He and his wife separated last year.

adj. 

5. detached;
   not connected:
   a garage separate from the house.
6. different:
   five separate meanings.
7. not shared;
   individual:
   [before a noun] separate checks.

n. 

8. Clothing Usually, separates. [plural] women's clothing to be worn in various combinations.

sep•a•rate•ly, adv. See -pare-¹.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

sep•a•rate  (v. sep′ə rāt′;adj., n. sep′ər it), v., -rat•ed, -rat•ing, adj., n. 
v.t. 

1. to keep apart or divide, as by an intervening barrier or space:
   to separate two fields by a fence.
2. to put, bring, or force apart;
   part:
   to separate two fighting boys.
3. to set apart;
   disconnect;
   dissociate:
   to separate church and state.
4. to remove or sever from association, service, etc., esp. legally or formally:
   He was separated from the army right after V-E Day.
5. to sort, part, divide, or disperse (an assemblage, mass, compound, etc.), as into individual units, components, or elements.
6. to take by parting or dividing;
   extract (usually fol. by from or out):
   to separate metal from ore.
7. Mathematics to write (the variables of a differential equation) in a form in which the differentials of the independent and dependent variables are, respectively, functions of these variables alone:
   We can separate the variables to solve the equation.
   Cf. separation of variables. 

v.i. 

8. to part company;
   withdraw from personal association (often fol. by from):
   to separate from a church.
9. (of a married pair) to stop living together but without getting a divorce.
10. to draw or come apart;
    become divided, disconnected, or detached.
11. to become parted from a mass or compound:
    Cream separates from milk.
12. to take or go in different directions:
    We have to separate at the crossroad.

adj. 

13. detached, disconnected, or disjoined.
14. unconnected;
    distinct;
    unique:
    two separate questions.
15. being or standing apart;
    distant or dispersed:
    two separate houses; The desert has widely separate oases.
16. existing or maintained independently:
    separate organizations.
17. individual or particular:
    each separate item.
18. not shared;
    individual or private:
    separate checks; separate rooms.
19. (sometimes cap.) noting or pertaining to a church or other organization no longer associated with the original or parent organization.

n. 

20. Clothing Usually, separates. women's outer garments that may be worn in combination with a variety of others to make different ensembles, as matching and contrasting blouses, skirts, and sweaters.
21. Printing, Library Science offprint (def. 1).
22. Library Science a bibliographical unit, as an article, chapter, or other portion of a larger work, printed from the same type but issued separately, sometimes with additional pages.

• Latin sēparātus (past participle of sēparāre), equivalent. to sē- se- + par(āre) to furnish, produce, obtain, prepare + -ātus -ate¹
• late Middle English (noun, nominal and adjective, adjectival) 1400–50

sep′a•rate•ly, adv. 
sep′a•rate•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1, 2. sever, sunder, split.
  Separate, divide imply a putting apart or keeping apart of things from each other. To separate is to remove from each other things previously associated:
  to separate a mother from her children.
  To divide is to split or break up carefully according to measurement, rule, or plan:
  to divide a cake into equal parts.
• 3. disjoin, disengage.
• 13. unattached, severed, discrete.
• 15. secluded, isolated.
• 16. independent.

Antonyms

• 1. –3. unite, connect.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

separate verb / ˈsɛpəˌreɪt/

1. (transitive) to act as a barrier between: a range of mountains separates the two countries
2. to part or be parted from a mass or group
3. (transitive) to discriminate between: to separate the men from the boys
4. to divide or be divided into component parts; sort or be sorted
5. to sever or be severed
6. (intransitive) (of a married couple) to cease living together by mutual agreement or after obtaining a decree of judicial separation

adjective / ˈsɛprɪt ˈsɛpərɪt/

1. existing or considered independently: a separate problem
2. disunited or apart
3. set apart from the main body or mass
4. distinct, individual, or particular
5. solitary or withdrawn

Etymology: 15th Century: from Latin sēparāre, from sē- apart + parāre to obtain

ˈseparately adverb

ˈseparateness noun