Synonyms

word association

American

noun

stimulation of an associative pattern by a word.

word association British

noun

an early method of psychoanalysis in which the patient thinks of the first word that comes into consciousness on hearing a given word. In this way it was claimed that aspects of the unconscious could be revealed before defence mechanisms intervene

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

word association

It appears that these inventive students took "soc" from the middle of the word "association" and added "-er," producing "soccer".

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

The researchers then explored whether AI success on this simple word association task could extend to more complex and realistic creative activities.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 25, 2026

The problem here is with that word association.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025

It also had a word association exercise, asking people to offer the first word or phrase that comes to mind at the mention of each man.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 27, 2023

The equivoque arises precisely from the word "association."

From Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic by Croce, Benedetto

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023