to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings.
to be in intimate communication or rapport.
to commune with nature.
a small group of persons living together, sharing possessions, work, income, etc., and often pursuing unconventional lifestyles.
a close-knit community of people who share common interests.
the smallest administrative division in France, Italy, Switzerland, etc., governed by a mayor assisted by a municipal council.
a similar division in some other country.
any community organized for the protection and promotion of local interests, and subordinate to the state.
the government or citizens of a commune.
Also called Commune of Paris,. Also called Paris Commune. the Commune.
a revolutionary committee that took the place of the municipality of Paris in the revolution of 1789, usurped the authority of the state, and was suppressed by the National Convention in 1794.
a socialistic government of Paris from March 18 to May 27, 1871.
a group of families or individuals living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities
any small group of people having common interests or responsibilities
the smallest administrative unit in Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland, governed by a mayor and council
the government or inhabitants of a commune
a medieval town enjoying a large degree of autonomy
to talk or converse intimately
to experience strong emotion or spiritual feelings (for)
to commune with nature
See Paris Commune
a committee that governed Paris during the French Revolution and played a leading role in the Reign of Terror: suppressed 1794
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English com(m)unen “to share, have in common, associate with, tell stories, communicate,” from Middle French com(m)uner, com(m)uniier “to make common, have in common, share,” derivative of comun common
First recorded in 1785–95; from French, from Medieval Latin commūna, commūnia (feminine singular), alteration of Latin commūne (neuter singular), or commūnia (neuter plural) “community, state,” originally neuter of commūnis common
First recorded in 1325–1375; Middle English; back formation from communion
A commune is a group living situation where people share everything. Communes were popular with the peace-loving hippies of the 1960s. In Europe, a commune is a small administrative district. But in America, it's a way of life. A bunch of people with similar beliefs might all decide to get a big house and live communally, sharing the cooking, bills, and everything else. You can also commune with something, like nature: that means to be in tune with nature and very receptive to it. To commune can also mean to receive the Catholic communion.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rebecca Papin, a French-American visiting her holiday home in the commune of Biscarrosse, near to the Cap Ferret peninsula, saw a large plume of smoke in the distance on Thursday.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
After the explosion at an apartment building near Monaco's border with France, a suspect was seen fleeing towards the French commune of Beausoleil.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
I was reading an interview about you living on a commune.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
Most of the 18 passengers were teachers from Hanoi on a charity trip to Lao Cai province, where the accident occurred on a long downhill stretch in Phinh Ho commune.
From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025
Gathered in the center, around a sacred drum used to commune with Wah’Kon-Tah, were several male musicians and singers.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Izabela Jurkowska-Hanus, the district prosecutor in Sanok, which covers Bukowsko Commune, told TVN24 that as of that time, there were no other circumstances that suggest a cause of death other than the one reported.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
In St. Louis, strike committees, the so-called St. Louis Commune, briefly governed before troops crushed the uprising.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
At the very least, it should provide the basics of a decent hotel room, said Roman Alonso, a principal of Los Angeles-based design firm Commune.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2021
A new culinary festival, Commune, was set to debut this summer, with two weeks of events presented by more than 200 chefs.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2021
“He’s right up there with our brightest and best. Commune or no, he’s been very well educated by someone.”
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
“The Greeks believed that sleeping on a grave might give you dreams in which you communed with a spirit,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
There, he visited the Musée du Luxembourg and communed with paintings by Cézanne that became “clearer and more beautiful if you were belly-empty, hollow-hungry.”
From New York Times ● May 15, 2023
Worshippers have already prayed and communed at the site on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, while the general public will be allowed in next month.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2023
In point of fact, I communed with it even more meaningfully this time, and not merely because of the stagecraft or the sentimental pull of a theater world striving to be whole again.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2021
He’d communed with the dead, heard them whispering hints about their future.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Post-release he lives in self-exile in Bangkok, communing online with clients back in Myanmar.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
Although there are no figurative features at all, they appear to be communing among themselves and with you.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
Like Ann, Seyfried is wholly committed to the vision, singing, dancing and reaching her hands to God with such celestial fervor that it feels as though she really is communing with something unseen.
From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2025
Sixtyish Maggie Bird retired from the CIA under a cloud but has rebuilt a life for herself in Purity, Maine, raising chickens and communing with a group of CIA retirees, a.k.a the Martini Club.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
“I saw you communing with the angel as well as your grandmother.”
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
