detachment

Definition of detachmentnext
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 There was empathy, but also a sense of professional detachment. Gene Wojciechowski, PEOPLE, 21 June 2026 After a short hike through a loblolly pine forest to the beach, there's a feeling of near-complete detachment from the rest of the world. Simon Davidson, Travel + Leisure, 19 June 2026 Founders built authority through minimalism, detachment or a kind of calculated neutrality. Partner Content, Variety, 10 June 2026 Her face, usually settled into a general look of detachment, would take on deeply significant expressions, all revolving around a plea for forgiveness. Andrea Bajani, New Yorker, 7 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for detachment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detachment
Noun
  • Independent validation is essential for maintaining objectivity.
    Steve Taplin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Slot, as head coach, was more of a middle manager; someone who acted with the objectivity of a civil servant and the occasional bluntness of a corrections officer.
    Simon Hughes, New York Times, 30 May 2026
Noun
  • The highway patrol did not immediately respond to The Star’s request for comment.
    Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 3 July 2026
  • Other public safety measures the city has recently taken is the purchase of a $98,400 police patrol boat to help with the increasing number of service calls to Lake Grapevine.
    Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 July 2026
Noun
  • The world of Pride and Prejudice expects women to accommodate male pride as a social fact, to smooth over awkwardness, to accept that status and wealth compensate for coldness or indifference.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 June 2026
  • Her fierce intelligence helps paper over some of the screenplay’s rougher transitions, and even lends a measure of legibility to Sylvia’s sudden coldness.
    Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 16 June 2026
Noun
  • As a result, the bill would leave parts of the crypto ecosystem vulnerable to exploitation by terrorists, sanctions evaders, fraudsters, and other illicit actors under the guise of technological neutrality.
    Richard Nephew, Fortune, 2 July 2026
  • Thanks to their neutrality, black and white tiles can support both understated and daring palettes.
    Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 July 2026
Noun
  • Across its 55,000-square-foot footprint, the $24 million building is composed of a learning center and classrooms, company orderly rooms, battalion planning space and secure equipment storage — and carries a plaque honoring the state’s 30th governor.
    Kevin Fixler June 26, Idaho Statesman, 26 June 2026
  • These religious sites and sacred areas throughout Ukraine have not been used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces or Ukrainian volunteer battalions as staging grounds to fight against Russian forces.
    Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Noun
  • Eliot loved hearing Claire talk about people, her combination of warmth and dispassion.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025
  • 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
Noun
  • Scholl was a walking catalogue who brought his journalistic objectiveness to preservation, Matuszewicz said.
    Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 11 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Commodore Matthew Perry forcibly entered Edo (Tokyo) Bay, Japan, with a squadron of two steam warships and two sailing sloops.
    USA Today, USA Today, 24 June 2026
  • Egypt has responded with help in the other direction, sending a squadron of fighter jets to the UAE during the Iran war as part of efforts to demonstrate support.
    Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 23 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Detachment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detachment. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

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