decoupling
decoupling — noun
1. the situation in which two economies, markets, or financial systems become less
the situation in which two economies, markets, or financial systems become less connected to each other, so that changes in one no longer directly cause changes in the other
Economists are watching for signs of decoupling between the Chinese and American economies.
decoupling between [X] and [Y]
The pandemic accelerated the decoupling of global supply chains from a single country.
decoupling of [something] from [something]
Mert argued that the decoupling of European markets from US interest rate trends was only temporary.
A gradual decoupling of the two trading partners began after the new tariffs were introduced.
- disconnection
more general; does not specifically imply economic interdependence
- uncoupling
more literal and less common in economic writing; shares the 'couple' root
- disengagement
suggests an intentional, often political, pulling apart
- coupling
the direct opposite; increasing interdependence
- integration
implies merging rather than mere connection
文法句型
decoupling of [economy_A] and/from [economy_B]
decoupling between [entity_X] and [entity_Y]
用法筆記
Often used in news about trade relations, especially between large economies such as the US and China, or the EU and the UK.
常見錯誤
2. the act or process of separating or disconnecting two or more things that were p
the act or process of separating or disconnecting two or more things that were previously linked, joined, or dependent on each other
The decoupling of the company's logistics from its manufacturing operations disrupted the supply chain.
abstract separation of systems
Aarav's therapist suggested a gradual decoupling of his finances from his parents' accounts.
Researchers studied the decoupling of cause and effect in complex ecological systems.
The decoupling of the two companies took six months of legal negotiations.
Anong saw the decoupling of her career from the family business as a necessary step toward independence.
- separation
more general; does not imply that the things were previously linked in a structured system
- disconnection
focuses on the result rather than the process
- uncoupling
more common for physical objects such as train carriages or ropes
- coupling
the act of joining or linking together
- connection
a state of being linked
文法句型
decoupling of [thing_A] from/and [thing_B]
用法筆記
The countable form ('a decoupling') is possible when referring to a specific instance, but the uncountable form is far more common. Distinguish from sense 1, which is limited to economic contexts.
常見錯誤
3. the principle or practice of designing software, systems, or components so that
the principle or practice of designing software, systems, or components so that they depend on each other as little as possible, making them easier to change, test, or replace
The engineering team achieved decoupling by splitting the application into independent modules.
decoupling by [means]
Decoupling the user interface from the database logic made it much simpler to update the website.
decoupling [component_A] from [component_B]
On Black Friday, the team was relieved that decoupling the checkout service from inventory kept the site running.
Piotr explained that proper decoupling would allow the company to switch cloud providers without affecting users.
- modularisation
focuses on the outcome (modules) rather than the process of separating
- loose coupling
a related concept that describes the result rather than the action
- separation of concerns
a broader design principle that includes but goes beyond decoupling
- tight coupling
a design where components are heavily dependent on each other
- monolithic design
a single, tightly integrated system with no separation between components
文法句型
decoupling of [component] from/and [component]
用法筆記
Frequently used in discussions of software architecture, system design, and modular programming. The verb form 'decouple' is more common in technical instructions; the noun appears in design documents and architectural reviews.