alliance

¹

[ uh-lahy-uhns ]

noun

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

[ uh-lahy-uhns ]

noun

1. a city in NE Ohio.

Alliance

¹

/ əˈlaɪəns /

noun

1. 1. the Alliance 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

alliance

²

/ 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

Other Words From

• inter·al·liance noun adjective
• nonal·liance noun
• preal·liance noun
• proal·liance adjective
• real·liance noun
• subal·liance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of alliance¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of alliance¹

C13: from Old French aliance, from alier to ally

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

First, one fights with another, then they make an alliance, then they go back to fighting each other.

From The Daily Beast

But with GOP governors slashing budgets across the country, can this odd alliance last?

From The Daily Beast

The book details his confrontations with neoconservatives, and his alliance with Condoleezza Rice.

From The Daily Beast

He entered in an awkward alliance with Lapid to join the government but quickly distanced himself from it.

From The Daily Beast

That alliance between the spy agency and the military, forged in Iraq, would forever change the way America fights wars.

From The Daily Beast

But this alliance is rotten, and cannot endure; the Western men are no partizans of slavery.

From Project Gutenberg

Perhaps, like father, I am a snob at heart and liked the sensation of a sort of artistic alliance with the British aristocracy.

From Project Gutenberg

He heard Mohammedans alluding to a Brahmin as a leader—so might a wolf and a snake make common alliance against a watch dog.

From Project Gutenberg

They accepted baptism as a sort of sacred pledge of friendship and alliance with the French.

From Project Gutenberg

Such an alliance was not to be tolerated for a moment, in connection with the last scion of his name and race.

From Project Gutenberg