Integrate and separate are opposites. Integrate is to bring parts into a whole so that they work together as one, or to bring someone into full, equal membership. Separate is to move or keep things apart, or (as an adjective) to be distinct and unconnected. Integrate fits things into one working whole; separate holds them apart as distinct.
One brings things into a working, belonging whole; the other keeps them apart. Integrate, from integrare 'to make whole', fits parts so they operate as one system, or brings a person into full membership of a society on equal terms. Separate, from Latin separare 'to part', keeps things apart or distinct. Schools integrate pupils of every background into one community; a policy that separates them keeps them apart. The social pair is sharp: to integrate is to include as equals, to separate is to segregate.
integrate
To integrate is to bring parts together so they function as one whole — from the Latin integrare, 'to make whole'. New software integrates with your calendar; a recruit integrates into a team; separated groups integrate into shared, equal community life. What is integrated stops being an add-on and becomes a working part of the system, the way a gear that meshes lets the whole train turn. It is stronger than to combine: the parts do not just sit together, they work together.
separate
To separate is to move things apart or to keep them apart — you separate two fighters, separate the yolk from the white, separate a class into groups. From the Latin separare, 'to disjoin'. Where you divide a whole into parts, to separate more often pulls already-distinct things away from each other, or sorts a mixture. As an adjective — and pronounced differently — separate means distinct or unconnected: three separate rooms, a separate issue. It is the quiet opposite of join.
| integrate | separate | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | fit parts into one working whole; include | move or keep apart; be distinct |
| Socially | include as equals | keep apart, segregate |
| The parts | work together as one | stay distinct, with space between |
| Often with | systems, communities, schools, data | items, groups, the sexes, races |
| Noun | integration | separation |
| Example | Integrate the schools. | Separate the two groups. |
Ask whether things are fitted into one whole or held apart. Integrate makes parts work — or people belong — as one, a gear setting the row turning. Separate keeps them apart and distinct, two magnets pulled to their own sides. If things are brought into one working, including whole, that is integrate; if they are moved apart or kept distinct, they are separate.
integrate
- iThe city worked to integrate its once-divided schools.
- iiThe company integrated the new software into its systems.
- iiiThe report integrates data from a dozen sources.
separate
- iThe old laws separated communities by race.
- iiSeparate the ripe fruit from the unripe before packing.
- iiiThe two schools were kept separate for another decade.
The pair is sharpest in its social sense: integrate means to include people as equal members of one community, while separate (in this sense, segregate) means to keep groups apart. In systems, integrated parts work as one, separated parts are kept distinct. Watch the spelling — separate has an 'a' in the middle.
A high-value pair for essays on society, education and systems, where it often means integration versus segregation. Integrate suits including people as equals or making parts work as one — 'integrate the schools', 'integrate the systems'. Separate suits keeping apart — 'separate the groups', 'kept separate'. Examiners reward the social nuance and note the spelling trap in separate (an 'a' in the middle). The nouns are integration and separation.