correlation

especially British, co·re·la·tion

[kawr-uh-ley-shuhn, kor-]

noun

1. mutual relation of two or more things, parts, etc..

   Studies find a positive correlation between severity of illness and nutritional status of the patients.

   Synonyms: interconnection, interrelationship, interdependence, equivalence, parallelism, correspondence, similarity

2. the act of correlating or state of being correlated.

3. Statistics.,  the degree to which two or more attributes or measurements on the same group of elements show a tendency to vary together.

4. Physiology.,  the interdependence or reciprocal relations of organs or functions.

5. Geology.,  the demonstrable equivalence, in age or lithology, of two or more stratigraphic units, as formations or members of such.

correlation

/ ˌkɒrɪˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more things

2. the act or process of correlating or the state of being correlated

3. statistics the extent of correspondence between the ordering of two variables. Correlation is positive or direct when two variables move in the same direction and negative or inverse when they move in opposite directions

Other Word Forms

• correlational adjective
• intercorrelation noun
• miscorrelation noun
• noncorrelation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of correlation¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Medieval Latin: correlātiōn- (stem of correlātiō ); cor-, relation

Word History and Origins

Origin of correlation¹

C16: from Medieval Latin correlātiō, from com- together + relātiō, _relation

Example Sentences

The apparent lack of correlation between CEO pay and company performance is a consequence of a system stacked in favor of those in the executive suite.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Similarly, nutrient inputs from the Amazon or Orinoco rivers showed no correlation with the timing or intensity of Sargassum blooms.

Read more on Science Daily

A correlation of 1 means two assets move perfectly in lockstep, while a correlation of 0 suggests no relationship.

Read more on MarketWatch

“In a crisis, all correlations go to one” goes the old market saying.

Read more on Barron's

This revealed short-term correlations invisible to traditional investors.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• interaction 
• interrelationship www.thesaurus.com
• parallel