Definition

1. Verb:
   • To withdraw formally from membership in a political or religious organization, federation, or alliance: "Secede" describes the deliberate act of a group or entity officially leaving a larger union or association to which it previously belonged, often due to political, cultural, or ideological differences.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • The state threatened to secede from the union over the new tax laws.
  • Several members of the club decided to secede and form their own organization.
  • Historically, some regions have attempted to secede to establish independent nations.

Advanced Usage

• "To secede from": This is the standard construction, indicating the entity being left.
  • The province voted to secede from the federal republic.
• Used in legal and historical contexts to describe the formal process of separation, often implying a significant political or constitutional crisis.

Variants and Related Words

• Secession (n): The act of seceding.
  • The secession of the southern states led to the American Civil War.
• Secessionist (n/adj): A person who advocates or supports secession; relating to secession.
  • The secessionist movement gained momentum.

Synonyms

• Withdraw: To remove oneself from participation or membership.
• Break away: To leave a group or organization, often to form a new one.
• Separate: To move or be moved apart.

Antonyms

• Join: To become a member or part of.
• Unite: To come or bring together for a common purpose.
• Federate: To unite in a league or federation.

Related Phrases

• Right to secede: A political or legal principle claiming the legitimacy of withdrawal.
  • The debate centered on whether states had a right to secede.
• Attempt to secede: An effort that may or may not be successful.
  • The failed attempt to secede left deep divisions.

Verb

1. withdraw from an organization or communion
   • After the break up of the Soviet Union, many republics broke away