DETACHMENT

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does detachment mean? 

• DETACHMENT (noun)
  The noun DETACHMENT has 5 senses:

1. avoiding emotional involvement

2. the act of releasing from an attachment or connection

3. the state of being isolated or detached

4. a small unit of troops of special composition

5. coming apart

  Familiarity information: DETACHMENT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DETACHMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Avoiding emotional involvement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

detachment; withdrawal

Hypernyms ("detachment" is a kind of...):

indifference (unbiased impartial unconcern)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of releasing from an attachment or connection

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

detachment; disengagement

Hypernyms ("detachment" is a kind of...):

separation (the act of dividing or disconnecting)

Derivation:

detach (cause to become detached or separated; take off)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The state of being isolated or detached

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

detachment; insularism; insularity; insulation

Context example:

the insulation of England was preserved by the English Channel

Hypernyms ("detachment" is a kind of...):

isolation (a state of separation between persons or groups)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A small unit of troops of special composition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("detachment" is a kind of...):

army unit (a military unit that is part of an army)

Meronyms (members of "detachment"):

flanker (a soldier who is a member of a detachment assigned to guard the flanks of a military formation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "detachment"):

bodyguard (a group of men who escort and protect some important person)

patrol (a detachment used for security or reconnaissance)

picket (a detachment of troops guarding an army from surprise attack)

press gang (a detachment empowered to force civilians to serve in the army or navy)

provost guard (a detachment under the command of a provost marshall)

rearguard (a detachment assigned to protect the rear of a (retreating) military body)

Derivation:

detach (separate (a small unit) from a larger, especially for a special assignment)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Coming apart

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

breakup; detachment; separation

Hypernyms ("detachment" is a kind of...):

alteration; change; modification (an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "detachment"):

breach; break; falling out; rift; rupture; severance (a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions))

break (the occurrence of breaking)

Derivation:

detach (come to be detached)

 Context examples 

Issue associated with the detachment of small pieces of the coating film of a material.

(Flaked Medical Device Material, Food and Drug Administration)

It results in disorganized growth of retinal blood vessels, which may lead to scarring and retinal detachment.

(Immature Retinopathy of Prematurity, NICHD)

Cell migration is the result of integrated disruption of cell-cell and cell-substratum adhesion and prevention of apoptosis through cell detachment.

(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

For my own part I had none of this power of detachment, and the day, in consequence, appeared to be interminable.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Removal, separation, detachment, extirpation or eradication of a body part, pathway or function by freezing.

(Cryosurgery, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

It is characterized by raised, edematous papules in the extremities; involvement of one or more mucous membranes; and epidermal detachment involving less than ten percent of the total body surface area.

(Erythema Multiforme Major, NCI Thesaurus)

Removal, separation, detachment, extirpation, or eradication of a body part, pathway, or function by surgery, chemical destruction, morbid process, or noxious substance.

(Ablation Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

Removal, separation, detachment, extirpation, or eradication of a body part, pathway, or function by chemical means.

(Chemical Ablation, NCI Thesaurus)

In admitting that the fault of the incident lay with you, you gave some evidence of a certain mental detachment and breadth of view which attracted my favorable notice.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then Jo and Meg, with a detachment of the bigger boys, set forth the supper on the grass, for an out-of-door tea was always the crowning joy of the day.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)