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hive mind

American  
Or hivemind

noun

  1. the property of apparent sentience in a colony of social insects acting as a single organism, each insect performing a specific role for the good of the group.

  2. Psychology,

    1. a collective consciousness, analogous to the behavior of social insects, in which a group of people become aware of their commonality and think and act as a community, sharing their knowledge, thoughts, and resources.

      the global hive mind that has emerged with sites like Twitter and Facebook.

    2. such a group mentality characterized by uncritical conformity and loss of a sense of individuality and personal accountability.


Etymology

Origin of hive mind

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Seehorn carried a heavy load as its lead, playing a sad, angry woman forced to save the world from happiness and the hive mind.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Named Wilbur by the hive mind of social media, the animal blew up online after resident Jamaal Harrison posted a video to TikTok on Saturday showing his futile attempts to catch it on an e-bike.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The Apple TV show is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which most of humanity has been infected with an alien virus creating a peaceful hive mind, with only 13 outliers immune.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Thought leadership, on the other hand, implies that we can create and lead a hive mind like the Borg from “Star Trek.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

I could be subsumed into Abnegation’s hive mind, projecting always outward.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

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