secede
to withdraw formally from a group
Roots
- ced / cess / ceed: go, approach, yield, move back, or stop
- se-: apart, aside, or away
Other words with the ced / cess / ceed root
Se- gives apart and cede gives go. Secede is to go apart from a larger body.
The region threatened to secede after years of political conflict.
Secede is separation made formal. A person can leave a room; a state or group secedes when the leaving becomes political, legal, and hard to undo.