dissociate
Sever a connection
To dissociate is to separate or disconnect things that were linked.
You might dissociate yourself from a controversial statement or dissociate one idea from another.
In psychology, dissociation is a mental process where thoughts, feelings, or memories become disconnected from conscious awareness—a defense mechanism against trauma.
She learned to dissociate during the abuse.
The word overlaps almost entirely with disassociate, though dissociate is preferred in technical contexts.
To break a connection
- detachTo separate from
- severCut apart completely
- disengageBreak free from attachment
- disaffiliateEnd formal membership
distance · remove · disentangle · extricate · decouple · uncouple · disunite · part
Separation or emotional uninvolvement
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- derealizationPerception that surroundings aren't real
- numbingCausing loss of sensation
- splittingDividing into parts
compartmentalize · trauma · coping · defense mechanism · fugue · amnesia · identity · fragmentation
Break into simpler parts
- break downFail mechanically or emotionally
- separateTo set apart
- ionizeConvert to charged particles
- splitSeparation into parts
dissolve · unbind · degrade · react · electrolysis · solution · compound · molecule
Separation or emotional uninvolvement
- numbnessLoss of sensation
- indifferenceLack of interest
- apathyAbsence of feeling
- dispassionFreedom from emotional bias
aloofness · coldness · withdrawal · unfeeling · shutting down · emotional distance · blunting · flatness
disconnect
To break a connection
disaffiliate · distance · remove · disentangle · extricate · decouple · uncouple · disunite · part · break away
detachment
Separation or emotional uninvolvement
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- derealizationPerception that surroundings aren't real
- numbingCausing loss of sensation
splitting · compartmentalize · trauma · coping · defense mechanism · fugue · amnesia · identity · fragmentation · trance
decompose
Break into simpler parts
- break downFail mechanically or emotionally
- separateTo set apart
- ionizeConvert to charged particles
split · dissolve · unbind · degrade · react · electrolysis · solution · compound · molecule · ion
detachment
Separation or emotional uninvolvement
- numbnessLoss of sensation
- indifferenceLack of interest
- apathyAbsence of feeling
dispassion · aloofness · coldness · withdrawal · unfeeling · shutting down · emotional distance · blunting · flatness · hollow
disaffiliate
End formal membership
renounce · reject · repudiate · cut off · abandon · disown · leave · resign · defect · denounce
- disconnectingdetaching, disconnect, disengaging, detach, disconnecting
- separationsseparate, split, break up, parting, sever
- mental processesthinking, think, reasoning, cognition, pondering
- rejectionrejection, reject, denial, refuse, refusal
- unfasteningunfasten, detach, disconnect, unbuckle, unbutton
- tuning outignore, zone out, space out, block out, filter out
- dissociative identity disorderPsychiatric condition with alternate identities
- dissociative disorderMental condition causing identity disruption
dissociation, dissociated, dissociating, dissociates, dissociative, dissociations