Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Separated or divided; lacking unity: Describes a state where people, groups, or things that were once together are now split apart, often leading to conflict, disagreement, or a lack of cooperation.
   • Fragmented or broken apart: Can describe something that is no longer whole or cohesive, having been separated into distinct and often opposing parts.

Usage and Examples

• General Use:
  • The disunited members of the committee could not reach a consensus. (The separated and disagreeing members could not agree.)
  • Once a strong alliance, the group is now disunited and ineffective. (The group, which was once unified, is now divided and not working well.)
• Describing Groups or Nations:
  • Historians studied the disunited states that preceded the formation of the empire. (Historians studied the separate states that existed before they united into an empire.)
  • A disunited opposition is unlikely to win the election. (An opposition that is not unified is not likely to win.)

Advanced Usage

• "To become disunited": to move from a state of unity to one of division.
  • Over the policy dispute, the party became increasingly disunited. (Because of the argument over policy, the party members became more and more divided.)
• "Hopelessly disunited": emphasizes a severe and seemingly irreparable lack of unity.
  • The rebels were a hopelessly disunited collection of factions. (The rebel group was a severely fragmented mix of smaller groups with different goals.)

Variants and Related Words

• Disunite (verb): to cause to become separate or divided.
  • The scandal threatened to disunite the entire organization. (The scandal risked causing division within the whole organization.)
• Disunity (noun): the state of being disunited; lack of unity.
  • Internal disunity weakened the movement's impact. (A lack of internal agreement made the movement less powerful.)

Synonyms

• Divided: split into parts or groups.
• Fragmented: broken into small, often disconnected pieces.
• Split: divided, especially by disagreement.
• Discordant: disagreeing or incongruous.

Antonyms

• United: joined together politically, emotionally, or in agreement.
• Unified: made into or become a single unit.
• Cohesive: characterized by unity; forming a united whole.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "A house divided": a phrase (often "a house divided against itself cannot stand") meaning a group weakened by internal conflict. This is a conceptual synonym for a disunited group.
  • The company was like a house divided, with departments working against each other.

Adjective

1. having been divided; having the unity destroyed
   • Congress...gave the impression of...a confusing sum of disconnected local forces-Samuel Lubell
   • a league of disunited nations- E.B.White
   • a fragmented coalition
   • a split group