DETACHMENT Synonyms: 96 Similar and Opposite Words

detachment

noun

di-ˈtach-mənt

Definition of detachment

as in objectivity

lack of favoritism toward one side or another the judge showed commendable detachment when deciding the controversial case

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

as in coldness

the absence of emotional involvement his detachment allowed him a clearer perspective on the child custody case

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 For him, the camera was never an excuse for detachment from human suffering. — Simon Ellery, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026 Colby hands out clichés with the stoic detachment of a Midwestern corn farmer discussing an incoming frost. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2026 He was haunted by Switzerland’s position of neutrality during the fight against the Nazis, and he was troubled by the accommodations his prosperous countrymen were willing to make after the war to maintain their comfortable detachment. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026 Taken to its most extreme logic of detachment from humanity, exerting the the will into a detachment from one’s physical life—the Romans called it suicide. — Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for detachment

Recent Examples of Synonyms for detachment

Noun

An algorithm trained on incomplete or unrepresentative data can reproduce inequities already present in healthcare, except now those decisions arrive wrapped in the appearance of objectivity.

— Paula Ferrada, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
But the murkiness doesn’t last long in a production that achieves an admirable balance between objectivity and emotion, abstraction and representation.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of objectivity

Noun

Fox News Digital asked Martin whether that level of support undermined Ireland's neutrality.

— Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
This initiative is a key step toward reaching full carbon neutrality across its vehicles, factories, and supply chain no later than 2050.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of neutrality

Noun

Neither Dan Heizman, president of Local 42, which represents those with the rank of captain and below, nor Clay Calvin, president of Local 3808, which represents division and battalion chiefs, responded to requests for comment.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2026
The power Whitney expressed was more abstract than Beyoncé’s heavy-handed, and still astonishing, Super Bowl halftime performance in 2016, in which the artist stormed the field with a battalion of women dressed as Black Panthers.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of battalion

Noun

The original medical examiner is dead, so the replacement, Lisa Gavin, examined slides of Shakur’s bloated cadaver with the dispassion of a science teacher dissecting a frog.

— Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
Eliot loved hearing Claire talk about people, her combination of warmth and dispassion.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025

Definition of dispassion

Noun

As the industrial age took hold, geometry continued to show force in the colonial infantries abroad and through isomorphic police squadrons that fit neatly into modernizing city blocks patrolled back home.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, American soldier Lou (Boyd Holbrook) and his squadron exchange fire with unseen enemy combatants.

— Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of squadron

Browse Nearby Words

detaching

detachment

detachments

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Detachment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detachment. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of detachment

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes