secession

[si-sesh-uhn]

noun

1. an act or instance of seceding.

2. (often initial capital letter),  the withdrawal from the Union of 11 Southern states in the period 1860–61, which brought on the Civil War.

3. (usually initial capital letter),  a style of art in Germany and Austria concurrent with and related to Art Nouveau.

secession

/ sɪˈsɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of seceding

2. (often capital) the withdrawal in 1860–61 of 11 Southern states from the Union to form the Confederacy, precipitating the American Civil War

secession

1. The withdrawal from the United States of eleven southern states in 1860 and 1861. The seceding states formed a government, the Confederacy, in early 1861. Hostilities against the remaining United States, the Union, began in April 1861 (see Fort Sumter), and the Civil War followed.

Other Word Forms

• secessionist noun
• secessional adjective
• secessionism noun
• nonsecession noun
• nonsecessional adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of secession¹

1525–35; < Latin sēcessiōn- (stem of sēcessiō ) withdrawal, equivalent to sēcess ( us ) (past participle of sēcēdere to secede; cession ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of secession¹

C17: from Latin sēcessiō a withdrawing, from sēcēdere to _secede

Example Sentences

The aim would be to try to recruit them for a secession movement, DR said.

From BBC

Any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan could trigger military action from China, which has a law stating it will resort to "non-peaceful means" to prevent the "secession" of Taiwan.

From BBC

The legislation criminalises a wider range of dissenting acts which Beijing considers subversion and secession, among other things.

From BBC

Hong Kong issued two arrest warrants for her alleging "incitement to secession and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security".

From BBC

But the Whigs dissolved as a party almost a full decade before Southern secession, and the political imbalance in the country only got worse.

From Salon

Related Words

• breakaway 
• breakup 
• separation