Division — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Division (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. something that divides, separates, or marks off

   "we poked our heads over the division between the yards to see what the fuss was about"

   similar: divider, partition, separation, separator
   related: barrier, fence, wall, border, boundary, limit

2. a large unit of a governmental, business, or educational organization

   "the complaints division handled all of the calls from the angry townsfolk"

   similar: agency, arm, branch, bureau, department, desk, office, service
   related: subdepartment, subdivision

3. one of the units into which a whole is divided on the basis of a common characteristic

   "one of the major divisions of birds"

   similar: bracket, category, class, classification, family, genus, grade, group, kind, league, order, rank(s), rubric, set, species, tier, type
   related: description, feather, ilk, kidney, like, manner, nature, sort, branch, section, speciality, specialty, subclass, subdivision, subgroup, subspecies, variety, breed, race, generation, heading, label, title

4. the act or process of a whole separating into two or more parts or pieces

   "the assembly line was a major development in the division of labor among workers"

   similar: bifurcation, breakup, cleavage, dissolution, disunion, fractionalization, fractionation, partition, schism, scission, separation, split, sundering
   related: breach, rupture, divorce, severance, decomposition, disassembly, dismemberment, segmentation, subdivision, atomization, dichotomization, polarization, diffusion, dispersal, dispersion, scattering, administration, apportionment, distribution, isolation, seclusion, segregation, sequestration
   opposite: unification, union
   near: assemblage, association, attachment, conjunction, connection, link, linkage, linkup, aggregation, combination, consolidation, fusion

5. the act or process of giving out something to each member of a group

   "the person in charge of the division of the profits among the business partners"

   similar: admeasurement, allocation, allotment, apportionment, disbursement, dispensation, distribution, issuance
   related: reallocation, reapportionment, redistribution, redivision, repartition, partition, separation

6. a lack of agreement or harmony

   "that church has been racked by division for some time now, and a split into two denominations seems unavoidable"

   similar: conflict, disaccord, discord, discordance, discordancy, disharmony, dissension, dissent, dissidence, dissonance, disunion, disunity, friction, infighting, inharmony, schism, strife, variance, war, warfare
   related: clash, collision, competition, contention, altercation, argument, bicker, brawl, debate, disagreement, dispute, divide, fissure, falling-out, fight, hassle, jar, miff, mix-up, quarrel, row, run-in, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle, incompatibility, incongruence, incongruity, incongruousness, inconsistence, inconsistency, inconsonance, inharmoniousness, animosity, antagonism, antipathy, cold war, enmity, hostility, ill will, rancor
   opposite: accord, agreement, concord, concordance, harmony, peace
   near: concurrence, cooperation