communication

com·mu·ni·ca·tion

noun \kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\

Definition of COMMUNICATION

1

: an act or instance of transmitting

2

a : information transmitted or conveyed

b : a verbal or written message

3

a : a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior <the function of pheromones in insect communication>; also : exchange of information

b : personal rapport <a lack of communication between old and young persons>

4

plural

a : a system (as of telephones) for transmitting or exchanging information

b : a system of routes for moving troops, supplies, and vehicles

c : personnel engaged in transmitting or exchanging information

5

plural but sing or plural in constr

a : a technique for expressing ideas effectively (as in speech)

b : the technology of the transmission of information (as by print or telecommunication)

— com·mu·ni·ca·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

Examples of COMMUNICATION

1. He is studying insect communication.
2. There was a breakdown in communication between members of the group.
3. television and other means of mass communication
4. Communications is a growing industry.
5. He majored in communications in college.
6. Communication between children in the class was not prohibited but was afforded time slots … —Jonathan Kozol, Harper's, September 2005
7. It's not an oral communication. It's body language, eye contact, the grinning, the little signals that go on between people. —Keith Richards, quoted in Rolling Stone, 14-28 July 1994
8. If the book is good and even if one is reading to oneself, what is happening is a very special sort of social event, a communication between writer and reader … —Walker Percy, “Another Message In The Bottle,” in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991
9. This is a secret and confidential communication which I am trusting you to answer on the sly. —Alexander Woollcott, letter, 20 Oct. 1934
10. Whom else had she to open her heart to? If she did not need counsel, she must need the comfort of communication. —Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814
11. You don't talk to him, he talks at you. You scream and shout at each other, but there's no communication. —Zadie Smith, White Teeth

Origin of COMMUNICATION

(see communicate)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to COMMUNICATION

Synonyms

dispatch, message

Related Words

bulletin, communiqué, express [British], report; memo, memorandum, notice; epistle, letter, missive, note; electronic mail, e-mail, voice mail; intelligence, news, tidings, word; command, directive, instruction, order

Rhymes with COMMUNICATION

abbreviation, abomination, acceleration, accentuation, accommodation, accreditation, acculturation, accumulation, actualization, adjudication, administration, adulteration, affiliation, agglomeration, alienation, alleviation, alliteration, amalgamation, amelioration, amplification, anglicization, annihilation, annunciation, anticipation, appreciation, appropriation, approximation, argumentation, articulation, asphyxiation, assassination, asseveration, assimilation, association, atomization, attenuation, authentication, authorization, autoxidation, balkanization, bastardization, beautification, bowdlerization, calcification, canonization, capitulation, centralization, certification, cicatrization, civilization, clarification, classification, coagulation, codification, coeducation, cogeneration, cohabitation, collaboration, colonization, colorization, commemoration, commiseration, concatenation, conciliation, confabulation, confederation, configuration, conglomeration, congratulation, consideration, consolidation, contamination, continuation, cooperation, coordination, corroboration, cross-pollination, crystallization, deactivation, debilitation, decapitation, deceleration, deconsecration, de-escalation, defenestration, defibrillation, deforestation, defragmentation, degeneration, deification, deliberation, delineation, demonization, denomination, denunciation, depopulation, depreciation, deracination, deregulation, desegregation, despoliation, determination, devaluation, digitization, disapprobation, discoloration, discrimination, disembarkation, disinclination, disinformation, disintegration, Disneyfication, dissemination, dissimulation, dissociation, documentation, domestication, dramatization, echolocation, edification, ejaculation, elaboration, elimination, elucidation, emaciation, emancipation, emasculation, enumeration, enunciation, equalization, equivocation, eradication, evacuation, evaluation, evaporation, evisceration, exaggeration, examination, exasperation, exhilaration, exoneration, expropriation, extenuation, extermination, extrapolation, facilitation, falsification, felicitation, feminization, fertilization, feudalization, finalization, Finlandization, formalization, fortification, fossilization, gasification, gentrification, gesticulation, globalization, glorification, gratification, habituation, hallucination, harmonization, humanization, humiliation, hyperinflation, idolization, illumination, imagination, impersonation, implementation, improvisation, inauguration, incarceration, incineration, incorporation, incrimination, indoctrination, inebriation, infatuation, initiation, inoculation, insemination, insinuation, instrumentation, internalization, interpretation, interrelation, interrogation, intimidation, intoxication, invagination, invalidation, investigation, invigoration, irradiation, itemization, justification, legalization, liberalization, magnetization, magnification, maladaptation, manifestation, manipulation, matriculation, maximization, mechanization, memorization, miscegenation, mobilization, modernization, modification, mortification, multiplication, mystification, nationalization, naturalization, negotiation, normalization, notification, novelization, nullification, obliteration, organization, origination, orientation, ornamentation, ossification, oxygenation, pacification, paralyzation, participation, pasteurization, perambulation, peregrination, perpetuation, personalization, petrification, polarization, pontification, precipitation, predestination, prefabrication, prefiguration, premeditation, preoccupation, preordination, preregistration, prettification, privatization, procrastination, prognostication, proliferation, propitiation, purification, qualification, ramification, randomization, ratification, realization, reciprocation, recombination, recommendation, recrimination, recuperation, redecoration, reduplication, reforestation, refrigeration, regeneration, regimentation, regurgitation, reification, reincarnation, reintegration, reiteration, rejuvenation, remuneration, renunciation, repatriation, representation, republication, repudiation, retaliation, reverberation, sanctification, scarification, sedimentation, sensitization, Serbo-Croatian, signification, simplification, socialization, solicitation, sophistication, specialization, specification, stabilization, standardization, sterilization, stratification, subordination, subpopulation, supplementation, synchronization, systemization, teleportation, tergiversation, transfiguration, transliteration, transvaluation, triangulation, uglification, unification, unionization, urbanization, verification, versification, victimization, vilification, vituperation, vocalization, vulgarization, westernization, x-radiation

com·mu·ni·ca·tion

noun \kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of COMMUNICATION

1

: the act or process of transmitting information (as about ideas, attitudes, emotions, or objective behavior) <nonverbal interpersonal communication> <emotional communication between parent and child—G. S. Blum>: a : exchange of information between individuals through a common system of signs, symbols, or behavior <pictorial representation is a usable channel of communication between humans and the chimpanzee> <the function of pheromones in insect communication> b : personal rapport <a lack of communication between young and old persons>

2

: information communicated

3

: a connection between bodily parts <an artificial communication between the esophagus and the stomach>