secession
sih-SESH-un
/sɪˈseʃ.ən/
The formal withdrawal of a region, state, or group from membership in a federation, union, or sovereign state.
Implies an abrupt, breaking legal act that ruptures existing constitutional frameworks, often leading to deep political conflict.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'secedere' (to go apart). In ancient Rome, commoners staged five historic strikes called 'Secessio Plebis', where the entire plebeian population walked out of Rome to the nearby Sacred Mount, leaving the patricians without labor until civil rights were granted.
Word relationships
- breakaway: Breakaway is an informal descriptive noun; secession is the formal constitutional or political act.
- separation: Separation can be amicable or informal, whereas secession is a formal legal act of severing political union.
- accession: Accession is the formal act of joining a treaty, union, or political federation.
- integration: Integration is the unifying process of merging separate political bodies into a single state.
Commonly confused with
- devolution: Devolution grants self-rule while remaining inside the sovereign nation; secession completely severs national ties to form a separate sovereign state.
Word family
- secede (verb): To formally withdraw from a political union or alliance.
- secessionist (noun): A person who advocates political breakaway.
Collocations
- threat of secession
- unilateral secession
- secession movement
- declare secession
Example sentences
- "The secession of South Carolina in December 1860 triggered a constitutional crisis that led directly to the American Civil War." American History (Historical Analysis of the U.S. Civil War)
- "Scholars continue to debate whether a legal right to unilateral secession exists under international law outside instances of severe oppressive colonization." International Law
Memory hook
SE (apart) + CEDE (go) = going apart from the state. Walking away from the union.
When not to use
Do not use for routine economic or political exit from voluntary clubs or trade treaties; it specifically refers to breaking away from a political union.
Fun facts
- In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark opinion ruling that Quebec could not secede unilaterally under domestic or international law without negotiated constitutional amendments.
Related words
Also appears in
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