Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Association has 9 different meanings across 1 category:
a formal organization of people or groups of people
"he joined the Modern Language Association"
the act of consorting with or joining with others
"you cannot be convicted of criminal guilt by 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"
the process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination
"conditioning is a form of learning by 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"
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"
(chemistry) any process of combination (especially in solution) that depends on relatively weak chemical bonding
"When mixing silver nitrate and ammonia, a transient association forms between the metal ions and ligands before they settle into stable complexes."
(ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species
"The ecologists noted that the coral reef association was dominated by just three types of fish despite hosting hundreds of smaller species."
The act of associating.
"His sudden change in behavior led to an immediate association between him and the recent scandal."
In plain English: An association is a group of people who come together to share common interests or goals.
"The charity had a strong association with helping local families after the storm."
Usage: Use "association" to describe the act of connecting ideas or forming relationships between people and groups. It refers to the state of being linked together rather than the specific moment two things meet.
The word comes from the Latin associatio, originally meaning "a joining together." It entered English through French as an abstract noun derived from the verb to associate.