conjugation

American  

[kon-juh-gey-shuhn] / ˌkɒn dʒəˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

conjugations plural

1. Grammar.

   1. the inflection of verbs.

   2. the whole set of inflected forms of a verb or the recital or display thereof in a fixed order.

      The conjugation of the Latin verb amo begins amō, amas, amat.

   3. a class of verbs having similar sets of inflected forms.

      the Latin second conjugation.

2. an act of joining.

   a conjugation of related ideas.

3. the state of being joined together; union; conjunction.

4. Biology.

   1. the reproductive process in ciliate protozoans in which two organisms of different mating types exchange nuclear material through a temporary area of fusion.

   2. temporary union or permanent fusion as a form of sexual reproduction in certain algae and fungi, the male gametes of one organism uniting with female gametes of the other.

   3. a temporary union of two bacteria, in Escherichia and related groups, in which genetic material is transferred by migration of a plasmid, either solitary or as part of a chromosome, from one bacterium, the donor, to the other, the recipient; sometimes also including the transfer of resistance to antibiotics.

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conjugation British  

/ ˌkɒndʒʊˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. grammar

   1. inflection of a verb for person, number, tense, voice, mood, etc

   2. the complete set of the inflections of a given verb

2. a joining, union, or conjunction

3. a type of sexual reproduction in ciliate protozoans involving the temporary union of two individuals and the subsequent migration and fusion of the gametic nuclei

4. (in bacteria) the direct transfer of DNA between two cells that are temporarily joined

5. the union of gametes, esp isogametes, as in some algae and fungi

6. the pairing of chromosomes in the early phase of a meiotic division

7. chem the existence of alternating double or triple bonds in a chemical compound, with consequent electron delocalization over part of the molecule

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conjugation Scientific  

/ kŏn′jə-gā′shən /

1. A type of sexual reproduction in single-celled organisms, such as bacteria and some algae and fungi, in which two organisms or cells from the same species join together to exchange genetic material before undergoing cell division.

2. The fusion of two gametes to form a zygote, as in some algae and fungi.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconjugation
  noun
• conjugational
  adjective
• conjugationally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• conjugations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conjugation

1400–50; late Middle English conjugacion (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latin conjugātiōn- (stem of conjugātiō ), equivalent to conjugāt ( us ) ( see conjugate) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conjugation conjugations

He’d explain I’d gotten the conjugation wrong and I’d quietly Google what that meant.

From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2026

Even the mystery she’s trying to unravel depends on correctly parsing the meaning of syntax and conjugation.

From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026

By joining the expertise in ON chemistry, including novel functionalization technology, of the Gothelf lab together with the peptide science legacy of Novo Nordisk, new and robust conjugation chemistry has emerged.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 2023

The awkwardness of screwing up in front of strangers, butchering their language and sweating while you raid the mind’s dusty corners for a verb conjugation, is not to be found here.

From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2023

In the past I had tried my hardest to be understanding, going so far as to allow the conjugation of nouns and the use of such questionable words as whateverishly.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

"If anyone asks if I can say something in Spanish, I just bosh out some verb conjugations," Raducanu joked.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2025

Throughout, she plays with various conjugations of the word “say” — “What’d he say?”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2022

In English, they both directly translate as conjugations of “to be.”

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2019

“He was Velasco, Valasky, Valasca, Valesques,” Ms. Cumming writes, “like the conjugations of an irregular verb.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2016

And what did it mean that number 2 pencils, conjugations without context, Pythagorean theorems, handshakes, and head nods were the difference between life and death, were the curtains drawing down between the world and me?

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates