| Noun | 1. | association - a formal organization of people or groups of people; "he joined the Modern Language Association"cooperative - an association formed and operated for the benefit of those using it gild, guild, lodge, club, society, order - a formal association of people with similar interests; "he joined a golf club"; "they formed a small lunch society"; "men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen today" fellowship, family - an association of people who share common beliefs or activities; "the message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family"; "the church welcomed new members into its fellowship" chapter - a local branch of some fraternity or association; "he joined the Atlanta chapter" league, conference - an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members secret society - a society that conceals its activities from nonmembers Fabian Society - an association of British socialists who advocate gradual reforms within the law leading to democratic socialism gang, mob, pack, ring - an association of criminals; "police tried to break up the gang"; "a pack of thieves" legion - association of ex-servicemen; "the American Legion" institute - an association organized to promote art or science or education associate - a person who joins with others in some activity; "he had to consult his associate before continuing" | |
| 2. | association - the act of consorting with or joining with others; "you cannot be convicted of criminal guilt by association"affiliation - the act of becoming formally connected or joined; "welcomed the affiliation of the research center with the university" | |
| 3. | association - the state of being connected together as in memory or imagination; "his association of his father with being beaten was too strong to break"unification, union - the state of being joined or united or linked; "there is strength in union" disassociation - the state of being unconnected in memory or imagination; "I could not think of him in disassociation from his wife" | |
| 4. | association - a social or business relationship; "a valuable financial affiliation"; "he was sorry he had to sever his ties with other members of the team"; "many close associations with England"relationship - a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties or countries | |
| 5. | association - the process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination; "conditioning is a form of learning by association"remembering, memory - the cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered; "he can do it from memory"; "he enjoyed remembering his father" colligation - the connection of isolated facts by a general hypothesis | |
| 6. | association - a relation resulting from interaction or dependence; "flints were found in association with the prehistoric remains of the bear"; "the host is not always injured by association with a parasite"relation - an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together | |
| 7. | association - (chemistry) any process of combination (especially in solution) that depends on relatively weak chemical bondingchemical science, chemistry - the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions hydration - the process of combining with water; usually reversible solvation - a chemical process in which solvent molecules and molecules or ions of the solute combine to form a compound | |
| 8. | association - (ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant speciesgroup, grouping - any number of entities (members) considered as a unit antibiosis - an association between organisms that is harmful to one of them or between organisms and a metabolic product of another | |