1
as in objectivity
lack of favoritism toward one side or another the judge showed commendable detachment when deciding the controversial case
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Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
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3
as in coldness
the absence of emotional involvement his detachment allowed him a clearer perspective on the child custody case
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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 Kelly’s videos, delivered in her distinctive, pitchy voice (think Valley girl with notes of humdrum detachment a la the famously monotone comedian Ben Stein), are both personal and woven with running gags. —
Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2026 Her early death, after an illness that the father initially contrives to ignore then notices just in time to capture her desperation in a fine sketch, leaves Mimí utterly disoriented, yearning only to achieve a level of self-control and detachment that will spare him their tumultuous struggle. —Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026 There’s an implication early on that Pumpkin harbors her own secrets, but the portrait remains too blank to sell her detachment as a riddle worth solving. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026 Create a safe place to practice independence so that the inevitable detachment from you is not too difficult, suggests Miller. —Sherri Gordon, Parents, 15 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for detachment
Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2026 Her early death, after an illness that the father initially contrives to ignore then notices just in time to capture her desperation in a fine sketch, leaves Mimí utterly disoriented, yearning only to achieve a level of self-control and detachment that will spare him their tumultuous struggle. —Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026 There’s an implication early on that Pumpkin harbors her own secrets, but the portrait remains too blank to sell her detachment as a riddle worth solving. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026 Create a safe place to practice independence so that the inevitable detachment from you is not too difficult, suggests Miller. —Sherri Gordon, Parents, 15 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for detachment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detachment
Noun
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Luminate has a series of extensive checks and balances in place to detect any fraudulent data from providers to ensure the objectivity of the chart.— Kyle Eustice, VIBE.com, 30 Mar. 2026
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Having cast doubt on Beatty’s objectivity, Hilborn then made the case that Wilkens’ fear may have stemmed from something other than abuse.— Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The patrol said the crash was fatal and no other vehicles were involved.— WCCO Staff, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
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The company said two configurations are being developed, one optimized for stealth endurance and the other for higher-speed strike and patrol roles.— Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The coldness of the water constricts arteries, requiring the heart to work harder than normal to function.— Saleen Martin, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2026
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The song has said everything that Ines can’t bring herself to, and her coldness chips away in the days and weeks that follow.— Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This idea of reasonableness is easily caricatured as moral timidity or a bloodless neutrality that drains politics of passion.— Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
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These can produce questionably high numbers of carbon credits that can be sold for a lot of money to companies with carbon neutrality slogans on their in-flight napkins.— Susan Shelley, Oc Register, 18 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Military under severe strain The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) last month diverted a combat battalion from the northern border with Lebanon to the West Bank amid the wartime surge in settler violence.— Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
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The cat who died, from a different apartment, was retrieved by firefighters and reunited with its owners, the battalion chief said.— Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Eliot loved hearing Claire talk about people, her combination of warmth and dispassion.— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025
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In the play’s most striking image, the dead sit in the Grover’s Corners graveyard in rows—rather like a theatre audience—watching the living with quiet dispassion.— Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
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India, an avatar of forceful neutralism early on, saw its influence diminished by regional conflict and domestic troubles.— Erez Manela, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021
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Globalizing impulses helped bring about a flourishing of neutralism.— Leo Robson, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2016
Noun
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Search-and-rescue corpsmen were overhead, with a hovering helicopter squadron.— Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
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Peck will lead a squadron of 140 personnel.— Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detachment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/detachment. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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