Divide vs. Unite — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 19, 2024
Divide means to separate into parts or groups, while unite means to bring together into a single entity or group.
Difference Between Divide and Unite
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Divide refers to the act of splitting or separating something into distinct parts, often resulting in fragmentation or lack of unity. It can apply to physical objects, groups of people, or abstract concepts like opinions or resources. Unite, on the other hand, means to bring together multiple elements to form a cohesive whole. It implies collaboration, joining forces, or creating harmony.
When you divide something, you create boundaries or distinctions, as seen in dividing a cake into slices or dividing a class into groups. This action often highlights differences or creates smaller, separate units. In contrast, to unite is to merge or bring together, such as uniting different teams for a common goal or uniting diverse opinions to reach a consensus. It emphasizes commonality and collective strength.
Divide can lead to disunity and fragmentation, whether in a social, political, or physical context. Unite promotes solidarity and cooperation, aiming for a combined effort or single purpose. For example, a leader might divide responsibilities among team members to ensure specific tasks are managed, while another leader might unite the team to tackle a large project collectively.
While dividing often addresses the need for organization, separation, or distinction, uniting focuses on creating harmony, inclusiveness, and collective action.
Comparison Chart
Definition
Separate into parts or groups
Bring together into a single entity or group
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Implication
Fragmentation, separation
Harmony, collaboration
Contexts
Physical objects, groups, opinions
Teams, groups, opinions
Examples
Divide a cake, divide responsibilities
Unite a team, unite communities
Result
Smaller, distinct parts
Cohesive whole
Focus
Differences, distinctions
Commonality, inclusiveness
Compare with Definitions
Divide
Separate into parts.
She divided the cake into eight pieces.
Unite
Bring together as one.
The new policy aims to unite the different departments.
Divide
Create boundaries.
The river divides the city into two distinct areas.
Unite
Merge opinions or efforts.
They worked to unite their ideas into a single proposal.
Divide
Distribute among groups.
The teacher divided the students into teams for the project.
Unite
Create harmony.
The leader's speech helped to unite the nation.
Divide
Mathematical division.
When you divide 10 by 2, the result is 5.
Unite
Join forces.
The volunteers united to clean up the park.
Divide
Separate or be separated into parts
The cell clusters began to divide rapidly
Consumer magazines can be divided into a number of categories
Unite
To bring together so as to form a whole
The different structures are united in a single flower.
Divide
Disagree or cause to disagree
Cities where politicians frequently divide along racial lines
The question had divided Frenchmen since the Revolution
Unite
To combine (people) in interest, attitude, or action
United the rival factions of the party.
Divide
Find how many times (a number) contains another
36 divided by 2 equals 18
Unite
To join (a couple) in marriage.
Divide
A difference or disagreement between two groups, typically producing tension
There was still a profound cultural divide between the parties
Unite
To have or demonstrate in combination
The course unites current theory and practice.
Divide
To separate into parts, sections, groups, or branches
Divided the students into four groups.
Unite
To become joined, formed, or combined into a unit
When reproductive cells unite.
Divide
To form a border or barrier between
A mountain chain divides France and Spain.
Unite
To join and act together in a common purpose or endeavor.
Divide
To sector into units of measurement; graduate
The ruler was divided into metric units.
Unite
(transitive) To bring together as one.
The new government will try to unite the various factions.
I hope this song can unite people from all different cultures.
Divide
To group according to kind; classify or assign
Divided the plants into different species.
Unite
(reciprocal) To come together as one.
If we want to win, we will need to unite.
Divide
To cause to separate into opposing factions; disunite
"They want not to divide either the Revolution or the Church but to be an integral part of both" (Conor Cruise O'Brien).
Unite
A British gold coin worth 20 shillings, first produced during the reign of King James I, and bearing a legend indicating the king's intention of uniting the kingdoms of England and Scotland.
Divide
To cause (members of a parliament) to vote by separating into groups, as pro and con.
Unite
To put together so as to make one; to join, as two or more constituents, to form a whole; to combine; to connect; to join; to cause to adhere; as, to unite bricks by mortar; to unite iron bars by welding; to unite two armies.
Divide
To give out or apportion among a number
Volunteers divided the different jobs among themselves.
Unite
Hence, to join by a legal or moral bond, as families by marriage, nations by treaty, men by opinions; to join in interest, affection, fellowship, or the like; to cause to agree; to harmonize; to associate; to attach.
Under his great vicegerent reign abide,United as one individual soul.
The king proposed nothing more than to unite his kingdom in one form of worship.
Divide
To subject (a number) to the process of division
Divided 20 by 4.
Unite
To become one; to be cemented or consolidated; to combine, as by adhesion or mixture; to coalesce; to grow together.
Divide
To be a divisor of
3 divides 9.
Unite
To join in an act; to concur; to act in concert; as, all parties united in signing the petition.
Divide
To use (a number) as a divisor
Divided 5 into 35.
Unite
United; joint; as, unite consent.
Divide
To become separated into parts
The mixture will divide into several layers if left unagitated.
Unite
Act in concert or unite in a common purpose or belief
Divide
To branch out, as a river or a blood vessel.
Unite
Become one;
Germany unified officially in 1990
Will the two Koreas unify?
Divide
To form into factions; take sides
The party divided evenly on the tax issue.
Unite
Have or possess in combination;
She unites charm with a good business sense
Divide
To vote by dividing.
Unite
Be or become joined or united or linked;
The two streets connect to become a highway
Our paths joined
The travelers linked up again at the airport
Divide
(Mathematics) To perform the operation of division.
Unite
Join or combine;
We merged our resources
Divide
(Biology) To undergo cell division.
Unite
Form a single entity.
The two companies decided to unite to increase their market share.
Divide
A dividing point or line
"would clearly tip the court ... across a dangerous constitutional divide" (Lawrence H. Tribe).
Divide
See watershed.
Divide
(transitive) To split or separate (something) into two or more parts.
A wall divides two houses; a stream divides the towns
Divide
(transitive) To share (something) by dividing it.
How shall we divide this pie?
Divide
To calculate the number (the quotient) by which you must multiply one given number (the divisor) to produce a second given number (the dividend).
If you divide 6 by 3, you get 2.
Divide
To be a divisor of.
3 divides 6.
Divide
(intransitive) To separate into two or more parts.
Divide
Of a cell, to reproduce by dividing.
Divide
To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance.
Divide
(obsolete) To break friendship; to fall out.
Divide
(obsolete) To have a share; to partake.
Divide
To vote, as in the British parliament and other legislatures, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the noes.
Divide
To mark divisions on; to graduate.
To divide a sextant
Divide
(music) To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations.
Divide
A thing that divides.
Stay on your side of the divide, please.
Divide
An act of dividing.
The divide left most of the good land on my share of the property.
Divide
A distancing between two people or things.
There is a great divide between us.
Divide
(geography) A large chasm, gorge, or ravine between two areas of land.
If you're heading to the coast, you'll have to cross the divide first.
Divide
(hydrology) The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest.
Divide
To part asunder (a whole); to sever into two or more parts or pieces; to sunder; to separate into parts.
Divide the living child in two.
Divide
To cause to be separate; to keep apart by a partition, or by an imaginary line or limit; as, a wall divides two houses; a stream divides the towns.
Let it divide the waters from the waters.
Divide
To make partition of among a number; to apportion, as profits of stock among proprietors; to give in shares; to distribute; to mete out; to share.
True justice unto people to divide.
Ye shall divide the land by lot.
Divide
To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance.
If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom can not stand.
Every family became now divided within itself.
Divide
To separate into two parts, in order to ascertain the votes for and against a measure; as, to divide a legislative house upon a question.
Divide
To subject to arithmetical division.
Divide
To separate into species; - said of a genus or generic term.
Divide
To mark divisions on; to graduate; as, to divide a sextant.
Divide
To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations.
Divide
To be separated; to part; to open; to go asunder.
The Indo-Germanic family divides into three groups.
Divide
To cause separation; to disunite.
A gulf, a strait, the sea intervening between islands, divide less than the matted forest.
Divide
To break friendship; to fall out.
Divide
To have a share; to partake.
Divide
To vote, as in the British Parliament, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the noes.
The emperors sat, voted, and divided with their equals.
Divide
A dividing ridge of land between the tributaries of two streams; also called watershed and water parting. A divide on either side of which the waters drain into two different oceans is called a continental divide.
Divide
A serious disagreement between two groups of people (typically producing tension or hostility)
Divide
A ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems
Divide
Separate into parts or portions;
Divide the cake into three equal parts
The British carved up the Ottoman Empire after World War I
Divide
Perform a division;
Can you divide 49 by seven?
Divide
Act as a barrier between; stand between;
The mountain range divides the two countries
Divide
Come apart;
The two pieces that we had glued separated
Divide
Make a division or separation
Divide
Force, take, or pull apart;
He separated the fighting children
Moses parted the Red Sea
Divide
Cause disagreement.
The controversial issue has divided the community.
Common Curiosities
What does divide mean?
To separate into parts or groups, often resulting in fragmentation.
Can divide be used in a positive context?
Yes, such as dividing tasks among team members for efficiency.
What does unite mean?
To bring together into a single entity or group, promoting harmony.
How is divide used in a sentence?
E.g., The wall was built to divide the two properties.
Does divide always imply conflict?
No, it can simply mean to organize or allocate resources.
Can unite have a negative connotation?
Rarely, but it can imply forced unity without addressing underlying issues.
Is unity always permanent?
No, unity can be temporary, depending on the context or goals.
Can unite refer to merging companies?
Yes, companies can unite to form a larger entity.
Does unite always imply agreement?
Generally, yes, it implies coming together in agreement or collaboration.
Is divide used in social contexts?
Yes, it can refer to social divisions, like cultural or political divides.
Can a country be divided and united simultaneously?
Figuratively, yes, a country can be divided in opinion but united in purpose.
Is division always physical?
No, division can be abstract, like dividing opinions or ideas.
Can divide refer to mathematical operations?
Yes, to perform division, such as dividing numbers.
How is unite used in a sentence?
E.g., The festival aims to unite people from different cultures.
Is unite used in emotional contexts?
Yes, it can refer to uniting people emotionally, fostering togetherness.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
