severance

C2+ Topic:Work & Careers

US /ˈsɛvərəns/ UK /ˈsɛvərəns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the act of ending or separating; pay given on termination of employment

He received six months' severance after the company downsized.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of ending or... separation division split rupture disconnection dissolution

Opposites

union connection attachment joining

Word family

Related forms severseverableseveral

Etymology

From Anglo-French severaunce, from sever ('to separate'), from Old French sevrer, from Latin separare ('to separate'), plus the suffix -ance.

separare Latin

View etymology graph ->

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# severance

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɛvərəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɛvərəns/

## Meanings
1. the act of ending or separating; pay given on termination of employment

## Examples
- He received six months' severance after the company downsized.

## Synonyms
- separation
- division
- split
- rupture
- disconnection
- dissolution

## Antonyms
- union
- connection
- attachment
- joining

## Related Forms
- sever
- severable
- several

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: separare

## Etymology
From Anglo-French severaunce, from sever ('to separate'), from Old French sevrer, from Latin separare ('to separate'), plus the suffix -ance.

## AI Etymology
Severance comes from Anglo-French severaunce, from sever ('to separate'), from Old French sevrer, from Latin separare ('to separate'), plus the suffix -ance. The historical chain includes Latin separare. Older glosses in the chain include "to separate", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, severance is best read as suffixal formation and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the act of ending or separating; pay given on termination of employment". related forms include sever, severable, and several. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Work & Careers

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severance

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