secede

verb

se·​cede si-ˈsēd How to pronounce secede (audio)
seceded; seceding

intransitive verb

: to withdraw from an organization (such as a religious communion or political party or federation)
seceder noun

Examples of secede in a Sentence

South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
By January 1861, when South Carolina had formally seceded, Wood’s message grew bolder. Longreads, 3 Oct. 2024 When unrest roiled eastern Donbas in 2014, the state-run media told Ivan that the Ukrainian province wanted to secede but that Kyiv wasn’t letting it. Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024 By holding Mehrtens, his captors hoped to press New Zealand to lobby Indonesia into allowing Papua to secede from Indonesia – a seemingly impossible demand. Manveena Suri, CNN, 21 Sep. 2024 In June 2023, a local proponent of Punjab seceding from India to form ‘Khalistan,’ an independent Sikh homeland, was shot dead in Surrey. Devon Leger, SPIN, 10 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for secede 

Word History

Etymology

Latin secedere, from sed-, se- apart (from sed, se without) + cedere to go — more at suicide

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of secede was in 1749

Dictionary Entries Near secede

Cite this Entry

“Secede.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secede. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

secede

verb
se·​cede si-ˈsēd How to pronounce secede (audio)
seceded; seceding
: to withdraw from an organization (as a nation, church, or political party)

More from Merriam-Webster on secede

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