association meaning and definition

ASSOCIATION noun

Definition of association (noun)

1. a formal organization of people or groups of people
   • "he joined the Modern Language Association"
2. the act of consorting with or joining with others
   • "you cannot be convicted of criminal guilt by association"
3. the state of being connected together as in memory or imagination
   • "his association of his father with being beaten was too strong to break"
   • antonym: disassociation
4. the process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination
   • "conditioning is a form of learning by association"
   • synonyms: connection, connexion
5. 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"
   • synonyms: affiliation, tie, tie-up
6. 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"
7. (chemistry) any process of combination (especially in solution) that depends on relatively weak chemical bonding
8. (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