detachment

1
2
as in patrol
a small military unit with a special task or function the general sent a detachment ahead to scout the enemy's position

Synonyms & Similar Words

3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of detachment These findings suggest that what may appear as emotional detachment on the surface can mask an underlying emotional reliance on partners, which is driven by an inability to process uncomfortable feelings independently. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025 This form is less common and can be more alarming in appearance, as the detachment begins in an area that typically remains firmly attached. Brandi Jones, Health, 7 June 2025 The subreddit lit up with theories: a flex, a trauma response, a signal of total emotional detachment. Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025 For example, the group is one of a handful of the Illinois region’s 40 detachments that have formed a partnership with Scouting. Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for detachment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detachment
Noun
  • The document does not define how objectivity will be measured, which agencies will oversee compliance, or what enforcement mechanisms will apply, leaving execution to future regulatory or agency-specific action.
    Paulo Carvão, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
  • Police accountability advocates condemned the pick on Friday afternoon, questioning Hall’s objectivity and willingness to hold officers accountable for misconduct.
    Matthew Kelly July 11, Kansas City Star, 11 July 2025
Noun
  • By the end of 2017, body cameras — a tool for both accountability and investigation — were in use for all Chicago Police Department patrol officers, which allows jurors and courtroom observers to watch, to some extent, a police shooting unfold.
    Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025
  • However, that claim could not be verified, with the judge ruling that the animal patrol officer did not adequately look to see if food and water were provided and if the horses were properly fenced on the property while performing a welfare check on May 7, according to court records.
    Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2025
Noun
  • While Cambodia is traditionally viewed as a close partner of China, Beijing's neutrality is also informed by its efforts to maintain and develop close relations with Thailand.
    Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025
  • Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, administrator at the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), said the concentration of terminal operators in one area would be inconsistent with the canal’s neutrality.
    Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 22 July 2025
Noun
  • Kansas City Kansas City firefighters rescued 23 people from vehicles stranded in high water Wednesday night and Thursday morning, battalion chief Michael Hopkins said.
    Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 17 July 2025
  • The unit is self-sufficient, with a Menlo Park battalion chief serving as team manager, a logistics specialist handling food, water, and transportation, and additional support personnel, Schlice said.
    Ryan Macasero, Mercury News, 10 July 2025
Noun
  • In the play’s most striking image, the dead sit in the Grover’s Corners graveyard in rows—rather like a theatre audience—watching the living with quiet dispassion.
    Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Nell shows a remarkable understanding of the song, a sense of dispassion that is both beautiful and chilling.
    Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • As a consequence, its countries are practiced in the art of strategic hedging and are predisposed to neutralism and nonalignment, owing to their colonial histories.
    David Shambaugh, Foreign Affairs, 17 Dec. 2020
  • India, an avatar of forceful neutralism early on, saw its influence diminished by regional conflict and domestic troubles.
    Erez Manela, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021
Noun
  • Three of the Vinson’s helicopter squadrons are based in San Diego.
    Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 July 2025
  • It was assigned to a naval squadron in 1917, according to Jakab, but saw little combat before becoming a training aircraft.
    Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2025
Noun
  • Xhaka was signed on a free transfer from Arsenal in 2023 and subsequently became a crucial member of a squad that went on to become the first undefeated German champion in Bundesliga history in 2024.
    Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
  • The Spaniards came out on top 2-1 with an impressive young squad that had shining star Lamine Yamal leading the line.
    Callum Sutherland, Time, 28 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Detachment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detachment. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on detachment

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!