Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or process of disconnecting or detaching; separation.
  • noun The state of being separate or detached.
  • noun Indifference to or remoteness from the concerns of others; aloofness.
  • noun Absence of prejudice or bias; disinterest.
  • noun The dispatch of a military unit, such as troops or ships, from a larger body for a special duty or mission.
  • noun The unit so dispatched.
  • noun A permanent unit, usually smaller than a platoon, organized for special duties.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of detaching, unfastening, or disconnecting.
  • noun The state of being detached or apart; in recent use, a state of separation or withdrawal from association or relation with something.
  • noun That which is detached; specifically, a body of troops selected or taken from the main army or body, and employed on some special service or expedition, or a number of ships taken from a fleet and sent on a separate service.
  • noun An order detaching an officer from duty at a given station.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of detaching or separating, or the state of being detached.
  • noun That which is detached; especially, a body of troops or part of a fleet sent from the main body on special service.
  • noun Abstraction from worldly objects; renunciation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable The action of detaching; separation.
  • noun uncountable The state of being detached or disconnected; insulation.
  • noun uncountable Indifference to the concerns of others; aloofness.
  • noun uncountable Absence of bias; impartiality; objectivity.
  • noun uncountable, military The separation of a military unit from the main body for particular purpose or a special mission.
  • noun countable, military The unit so dispatched.
  • noun countable, military A permanent unit organized for special duties.
  • noun countable Any smaller portion of a main body separately employed.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun avoiding emotional involvement
  • noun the state of being isolated or detached
  • noun a small unit of troops of special composition
  • noun the act of releasing from an attachment or connection
  • noun coming apart

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French détachement

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