association

[ uh-soh-see-ey-shuhn, -shee- ]

/ əˌsoʊ siˈeɪ ʃən, -ʃi- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR association ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure.

the act of associating or state of being associated.

friendship; companionship: Their close association did not last long.

connection or combination.

the connection or relation of ideas, feelings, sensations, etc.; correlation of elements of perception, reasoning, or the like.

an idea, image, feeling, etc., suggested by or connected with something other than itself; an accompanying thought, emotion, or the like; an overtone or connotation: My associations with that painting are of springlike days.

Ecology. a group of plants of one or more species living together under uniform environmental conditions and having a uniform and distinctive aspect.

Chemistry. a weak form of chemical bonding involving aggregation of molecules of the same compound.

touch football.

Astronomy. stellar association.

Nearby words

Origin of association

1525–35; (< Middle French) < Medieval Latin associātiōn- (stem of associātiō). See associate, -ion

SYNONYMS FOR association

1 alliance, union; society, company; band.

3 fellowship.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR association ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

as·so·ci·a·tion·al, adjectivein·ter·as·so·ci·a·tion, nounnon·as·so·ci·a·tion, nounnon·as·so·ci·a·tion·al, adjective

pro·as·so·ci·a·tion, adjectivepseu·do·as·so·ci·a·tion·al, adjectivere·as·so·ci·a·tion, nounsub·as·so·ci·a·tion, nounsub·as·so·ci·a·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for association

The juxtaposition planted a story of association on websites that touted both men for their talks.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Delta is a Platinum Global Partner, ranking them among the highest-level contributors to the association.
How You Can Help Make a More LGBT-Friendly World||December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“It doesn't require the association to immediately adopt the listed protections,” Hruby wrote.
Will the NCAA Let Ohio State’s Kosta Karageorge Die in Vain?|Robert Silverman|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As is common in North Korea, family members of “enemies of the people” are presumed guilty by association.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State|Lizzie Crocker|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It makes her association with Zaitokukai and their criminally inclined members highly problematic.
For Top Pols In Japan Crime Doesn’t Pay, But Hate Crime Does|Jake Adelstein, Angela Erika Kubo|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Forbid all association or consent cheerfully to the marriage.
Searchlights on Health: Light on Dark Corners|B.G. Jefferis
His bank is to make the loans for the association's drainage, and he has bought a big tract of land in this district.
The Hallowell Partnership|Katharine Holland Brown
The association sponsored the work of securing names to the National petition to Congress and they were tabulated at headquarters.
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume VI|Various
I wish no record retained of any association or tie with you, and henceforth I want to hear neither from nor of you.
A Speckled Bird|Augusta J. Evans Wilson
Just as I was standing there, pleased to have remembered the association in my mind, I felt a hand slipped gently round my neck.
The House That Grew|Mrs. Molesworth

British Dictionary definitions for association

association

/ (əˌsəʊsɪˈeɪʃən, -ʃɪ-) /

noun

a group of people having a common purpose or interest; a society or club

the act of associating or the state of being associated

friendship or companionshiptheir association will not last

a mental connection of ideas, feelings, or sensationsassociation of revolution with bloodshed

psychol the mental process of linking ideas so that the recurrence of one idea automatically recalls the otherSee also free association

chem the formation of groups of molecules and ions, esp in liquids, held together by weak chemical bonds

ecology a group of similar plants that grow in a uniform environment and contain one or more dominant species

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for association

association

1530s, "action of coming together," from Medieval Latin associationem (nominative associatio), noun of action from past participle stem of associare (see associate). Meaning "a body of persons with a common purpose" is from 1650s. Meaning "mental connection" is from 1680s; that of "quality or thing called to mind by something else" is from 1810.

Medicine definitions for association

association

[ ə-sō′sē-ā′shən, -shē- ]

n.

A connection of persons, things, or ideas by some common factor; union.

A functional connection of two ideas, events, or psychological phenomena established through learning or experience.

Science definitions for association

association

[ ə-sō′sē-ā′shən, -shē- ]

A large number of organisms in a specific geographic area constituting a community with one or two dominant species.

association

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of association

Examples from the Web for association

British Dictionary definitions for association

association

noun

Word Origin and History for association

association

Medicine definitions for association

association

n.

Science definitions for association

association