voluntary association

American  

noun

1. a group of individuals joined together on the basis of mutual interest or common objectives, especially a business group that is not organized or constituted as a legal entity.

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Example Sentences

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent countries, most of which have historical ties to the United Kingdom and its former empire.

From Washington Times • Oct. 11, 2023

Many leaders from the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries, are expected to attend what promises to be one of the most challenging security operations that the British government has ever undertaken.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2022

Some historians see her as a monarch who helped oversee the mostly peaceful transition from empire to the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 nations with historic and linguistic ties.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 11, 2022

It is a voluntary association of 54 countries that evolved gradually from the British Empire and has existed in its modern form since 1949.

From Reuters • Jun. 23, 2022

The home would thus be a compulsory association only during early childhood and would be a voluntary association for the adolescent.

From Years of Plenty by Brown, Ivor