voluntary association

American  

noun

1. a group of individuals joined together on the basis of mutual interest or common objectives, especially a business group that is not organized or constituted as a legal entity.

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Example Sentences

Against a backdrop of war in the Middle East and Ukraine, the King will commend the unifying force of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent countries, most of which have historical ties to the United Kingdom and its former empire.

From Washington Times • Oct. 11, 2023

Many former British colonies remain bound together in the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries.

From New York Times • Sep. 11, 2022

It is a voluntary association of 54 countries that evolved gradually from the British Empire and has existed in its modern form since 1949.

From Reuters • Jun. 23, 2022

It is not true that in all voluntary association between two people, one of them must be absolute master: still less that the law must determine which of them it shall be.

From The Subjection of Women by Mill, John Stuart