detachment Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun avoiding emotional involvement
    withdrawal.
  2. noun the act of releasing from an attachment or connection
    disengagement.
  3. noun the state of being isolated or detached
    insulation; insularism; insularity.
    • the insulation of England was preserved by the English Channel
  4. noun a small unit of troops of special composition
  5. noun coming apart
    breakup; separation.

WordNet

De*tach"ment noun
Etymology
Cf. F. détachement.
Definitions
  1. The act of detaching or separating, or the state of being detached.
  2. That which is detached; especially, a body of troops or part of a fleet sent from the main body on special service.
    Troops . . . widely scattered in little detachments. Bancroft.
  3. Abstraction from worldly objects; renunciation.
    A trial which would have demanded of him a most heroic faith and the detachment of a saint. J. H. Newman.

Webster 1913