coalition
[koh-uh-lish-uhn]
- a combination or alliance, especially a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc.
- a union into one body or mass; fusion.
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Origin of coalition
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
allianceaffiliationconspiracyringcompactamalgamationunionintegrationcombineblocconfederacyfederationcombinationfactionconsolidationfusionunificationpartyconjunctionleagueExamples from the Web for coalition
Contemporary Examples
But taking such action puts them at odds with the most powerful and best-organized segment of their coalition.
U.S.-led coalition airstrikes recently have been increased on Raqqa.
On one night earlier this month, the coalition launched 30 strikes on the town.
Faced with the loss of middle class voters, the administration seems determined to double down on its current coalition.
At the time, the Special Forces were pushing into Afghan villages previously unoccupied by coalition forces.
Historical Examples
Then the Coalition came along and his place knew him no more.
Let us suppose a coalition party to be formed called the Labor Party.
Socialism As It IsWilliam English Walling
The triumph of the Coalition and the entry of the allies into Paris.
The Gods are AthirstAnatole France
The reader will naturally ask—Can this be called a Coalition?
William Pitt and the Great WarJohn Holland Rose
Then among artists was a coalition of brains, a welding together of souls.
En RouteJ.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans
coalition
- an alliance or union between groups, factions, or parties, esp for some temporary and specific reason
- (as modifier)a coalition government
- a fusion or merging into one body or mass
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Word Origin
C17: from Medieval Latin coalitiō, from Latin coalēscere to coalesce
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for coalition
n.
1610s, "the growing together of parts," from French coalition (1540s), from Late Latin coalitus "fellowship," originally past participle of Latin coalescere (see coalesce). First used in a political sense 1715.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
coalition
An alliance of political groups formed to oppose a common foe or pursue a common goal.
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Note
In countries with many political parties, none of which can get a majority of the citizens' votes, the only way an effective government can be formed is by a coalition of parties. Such coalitions are often unstable.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.