Severance, n.
1. The act of severing, or the state of being severed; partition; separation. Milman.
2. (Law)
The act of dividing; the singling or severing of two or more that join, or are joined, in one writ; the putting in several or separate pleas or answers by two or more disjointly; the destruction of the unity of interest in a joint estate. Bouvier.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists severance only as an antonym, under attachment, union.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.
Synonyms
none given