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• 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.

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Alliance ² American  

[uh-lahy-uhns] / əˈlaɪ əns /

noun

1. a city in NE Ohio.

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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

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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

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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

It is rare for the alliance to point a finger at Moscow so quickly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Castro promoted guerrilla movements throughout Latin America and leveraged his alliance with the Soviet Union to send tens of thousands of Cuban soldiers into Africa.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

In July, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour struck an alliance with the Asian Tour in another blow to LIV Golf.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

"The opposition alliance is bringing energy to their rallies and appealing to youth, women, and rural voters," Joseph Siegle, director of research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

In effect, Jay’s Treaty was a repudiation of the Franco-American alliance of 1778, which had been so instrumental in gaining French military assistance for the winning of the American Revolution.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

The UFU called on the Alliance politician to quit on Friday over his department's handling of a controversial cull of 51 cattle in Fivemiletown in County Tyrone.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Steinhauser now leads the bipartisan AI group called the Alliance for Secure AI, which has been lobbying Congress for regulations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

"At a time when the US-Japan Alliance is dedicated to cultivating prosperity across the Indo-Pacific, we strongly oppose any action that undermines its peace and stability," Glass added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

The fund should address marketing costs, or the films won’t get seen, said Jackie Brenneman, president of the Independent Film & Television Alliance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

“The Northern Alliance is bringing together warring factions to resist the Taliban. Shamim was telling me the rumors he overheard in the market.”

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap sketch the shifting alliances and blustering personalities that made this one of the most notorious Chapter 11 cases of the 21st century.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

“Together we will build creative experiences for our consumers across our destinations, platforms, and fan touchpoints,” Becca Vodnoy, Walt Disney Co. senior vice president of corporate alliances, said in the statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

In a patrilocal world, the circulation of women does not just organize reproduction; it also sets up alliances between groups.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026

In practice, these transfers can help members build alliances, strengthen their party standing and direct resources to competitive races.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

Together, they were like one of those superhero alliances in the comic books, invincible, an unconquerable confederation of boredom and confusion.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt