desegregate

verb

de·​seg·​re·​gate (ˌ)dē-ˈse-gri-ˌgāt How to pronounce desegregate (audio)
desegregated; desegregating; desegregates

transitive verb

: to eliminate segregation in
specifically : to free of any law, provision, or practice requiring isolation of the members of a particular race in separate units

Examples of desegregate in a Sentence

efforts to desegregate the town's buses Eventually the city's schools desegregated.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
That started to change when the Justice Department and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare began putting pressure on school districts to desegregate. Louis Menand, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025 Also important was President Harry S. Truman’s historic decision in 1948 to desegregate the armed forces. Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025 Proponents of military segregation once argued that integration would threaten unit cohesion and effectiveness before former President Truman issued a 1948 executive order desegregating the armed forces. Brooke Migdon, The Hill, 28 Jan. 2025 The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order, as was Harry Truman's directive to desegregate the military. Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for desegregate

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of desegregate was in 1949

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Desegregate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desegregate. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

desegregate

verb
de·​seg·​re·​gate (ˈ)dē-ˈseg-ri-ˌgāt How to pronounce desegregate (audio)
: to eliminate segregation in
especially : to end by law the isolation of members of a particular race in separate units
desegregate city schools
desegregation
(ˌ)dē-ˌseg-ri-ˈgā-shən
noun

Legal Definition

desegregate

transitive verb
de·​seg·​re·​gate dē-ˈse-grə-ˌgāt How to pronounce desegregate (audio)
desegregated; desegregating
: to eliminate segregation in
specifically : to free from any law, provision, or practice requiring isolation of the members of a particular race in separate units

intransitive verb

: to become desegregated

More from Merriam-Webster on desegregate

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