separated

Separated is the past participle of separate and an adjective meaning kept apart or divided from something else. It describes objects, groups, or ideas that are not together, whether due to physical distance, distinct parts of a whole, or differences that set them apart.

In personal and family law, "separated" commonly denotes spouses who live apart while remaining legally married. A separation can be informal or governed by a formal agreement or court order that defines property, finances, and child arrangements. Separation may be temporary or lead to divorce, depending on the jurisdiction and the couple's choices.

In science and industry, separation refers to processes that isolate components of a mixture or keep substances apart. Common methods include distillation, filtration, chromatography, and magnetic or gravitational separation. In data handling and computing, "separated" describes values divided by a delimiter, such as comma-separated or tab-separated values.

The term is also used metaphorically to denote distinction or differentiation, such as separation of powers in government or separation of church and state in policy discussions.