Desegregate

To end enforced separation between social or racial groups in an institution or place.

Reach for it when describing removal of a discriminatory separation rule or practice

The district worked to desegregate its advanced science classes.

• everyday

  open

  when removing an access restriction is the practical change

  not when Opening admission may leave internal segregation untouched.

• warm

  include

  when bringing excluded people into participation is the immediate act

  not when Include can add participants while leaving the enforced separation unnamed.

• professional

  admit

  when entry to a school, service, or group is the specific action

  not when Admission concerns individuals and may not change the institution's structure.

• professional

  equalize

  when access or treatment is being made more equal

  not when Equalize may address resources without ending physical or institutional separation.

• professional

  integrate

  when formerly separated groups gain shared access and participation

  not when Integration can be nominal while unequal placement or treatment continues.

• formal

  unify

  when separate bodies are joined into one organization

  not when Unify can erase difference while discriminatory structures remain.

• segregate
• separate
• exclude
• discriminate

• desegregate schools

  The court order required the county to desegregate schools.

• effort to desegregate

  The effort to desegregate included transport, staffing, and admissions.

• fully desegregate

  Enrollment data alone could not show that the program had fully desegregated.

This sense concerns enforced social separation, especially racial segregation; it should not be used for every instance of groups being physically apart.

• Wiktionary, English verb: to end segregation in an institution or area ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.