detachment

Noun
US[dih-tach-muhnt]/dɪˈtætʃmənt/3 syllablesalso [dee-tach-muhnt] /diˈtætʃmənt/

Open English WordNet

Noun (5)

  1. avoiding emotional involvementSynonyms: withdrawalType of indifference
  2. the act of releasing from an attachment or connectionSynonyms: disengagementType of separation
  3. the state of being isolated or detached“the insulation of England was preserved by the English Channel”Synonyms: insulationinsularityinsularismType of isolation
  4. a small unit of troops of special compositionType of army unitKinds patrol, picket, provost guard, rearguard, press gang, bodyguardMembers flanker
  5. coming apartSynonyms: separationbreakupType of change, alterationKinds rupture, break
Word of the day · Sep 28About this word
onerousadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

De·tach′ment noun

Origin: Cf. F. détachement.

1. The act of detaching or separating, or the state of being detached.

2. That which is detached; especially, a body of troops or part of a fleet sent from the main body on special service.

Troops... widely scattered in little detachments.— George Bancroft

3. Abstraction from worldly objects; renunciation.

A trial which would have demanded of him a most heroic faith and the detachment of a saint.— Cardinal John Henry Newman

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Advertisement