Jump To:

• alliance
  alliance

  noun

  the act of allying or state of being allied.
• Alliance
  Alliance

  noun

  a city in NE Ohio.

alliance

¹ American  

[uh-lahy-uhns] / əˈlaɪ əns /

noun

• alliances
  plural

1. the act of allying or state of being allied.

   Synonyms:

   affiliation, partnership, bloc, combination, coalition, association

2. a formal agreement or treaty between two or more nations to cooperate for specific purposes.

   Synonyms:

   compact, pact

3. a merging of efforts or interests by persons, families, states, or organizations.

   an alliance between church and state.

4. the persons or entities so allied.

5. marriage or the relationship created by marriage between the families of the spouses.

6. correspondence in basic characteristics; affinity.

   the alliance between logic and metaphysics.

---

Alliance ² American  

[uh-lahy-uhns] / əˈlaɪ əns /

noun

1. a city in NE Ohio.

---

alliance ¹ British  

/ əˈlaɪəns /

noun

1. the act of allying or state of being allied; union; confederation

2. a formal agreement or pact, esp a military one, between two or more countries to achieve a particular aim

3. the countries involved in such an agreement

4. a union between families through marriage

5. affinity or correspondence in qualities or characteristics

6. botany a taxonomic category consisting of a group of related families; subclass

---

Alliance ² British  

/ əˈlaɪəns /

noun

1. 1. the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party acting or regarded as a political entity from 1981 to 1988

   2. ( as modifier )

      an Alliance candidate

---

Usage

What is an alliance? An alliance is the act or state of being in a mutually beneficial relationship to work toward a common goal, as in The United States’ longest alliance is with France. Often, alliance refers to a formal agreement between nations that promise to assist each other in war, as in Germany, Italy, and Japan agreed on an alliance during World War II. Alliance can also be used more generally to refer to the people or groups that come together in a common cause, as in The invading orcs were defeated by an alliance of men, elves, and dwarves. Alliance is similar to words such as confederation, union, and league, which also refer to beneficial partnerships. Alliance is used more generally than these words, however. Example: The kids at my school formed an alliance to stop the bully from harassing us. 

Synonym Usage

Alliance, confederation, league, union all mean the joining of states for mutual benefit or to permit the joint exercise of functions. An alliance may apply to any connection entered into for mutual benefit. League usually suggests closer combination or a more definite object or purpose. Confederation applies to a permanent combination for the exercise in common of certain governmental functions. Union implies an alliance so close and permanent that the separate states or parties become essentially one.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interalliance
  noun
• nonalliance
  noun
• prealliance
  noun
• realliance
  noun
• suballiance
  noun
• proalliance
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• alliances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of alliance

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English aliance, from Old French; equivalent to ally + -ance

Explanation

Countries that have an alliance, or agreement, help each other out when in need. That means during times of war, for example, if two countries have an alliance, one will help the other by providing weapons and supplies. An alliance doesn't just have to be between two countries; you can see alliances formed on a playground, when kids start clustering in groups or dividing themselves into teams to play tag. An alliance is essentially a connection through which a common interest is shared. A marriage is an alliance between two people who decide to share their lives together.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alliance Alliance alliances

The SCO's founding declaration says the group is "not an alliance directed against other states".

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

Labour and Reform put forward bids to form a minority administration, as well as an alliance made up of smaller parties and an independent councillor.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

It was the latest jolt to South Korea’s confidence in an alliance that has formed a cornerstone of Washington’s defense strategy in Asia since the end of World War II.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Not even Schuyler, who was trusted by the Iroquois, or van Olinda, the translator, who had often helped bridge cultural divides, could hold Iroquois leaders to the old alliance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

At the same time, the ASL continued to increase both its membership and its influence by demonstrating its willingness to form an alliance with any organization that shared its one goal.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

"She was doing everything that she could to get help, and for whatever reason, she still slipped through the cracks," said Adrienne Griffen, executive director of the nonprofit Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Back then, the Mayor of Manchester was still plotting his route to Westminister when he addressed the Alliance Party conference in March.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

A lawyer by profession, Mundubile became the main opposition challenger after a fractured anti-government camp rallied around him through the Tonse Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties seeking to defeat Hichilema.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Called the BankChain Alliance, the tech platform would be used for treasury management, supply-chain finance and cash management.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Even the Alliance was frozen white, and maybe that’s why Joseph dropped his backpack on the road, clambered into the high snow, and headed down to the river.

From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt

But concrete benefits of the group are uncertain, he said, as "in times of crisis, these alliances have rarely allowed Iran to resolve its difficulties".

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

From oil prices to regional alliances, the six-month-old conflict has defied expectations and unsteadied the global balance of power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

As Carney noted: "We cannot depend on traditional alliances when the rules of the game have fundamentally changed."

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

But alliances can withstand a lot of friction—physical proximity alone probably makes a wholesale U.S.-Canada divorce impossible—and escalation isn’t guaranteed.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

Each hamlet was involved in a kaleidoscopically changing pattern of war and shifting alliances with all neighboring hamlets, regardless of whether the neighbors were Foré or speakers of a different language.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond