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
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-nəl\ adjective
Examples of COMMUNICATION
- He is studying insect communication.
- There was a breakdown in communication between members of the group.
- television and other means of mass communication
- Communications is a growing industry.
- He majored in communications in college.
- Communication between children in the class was not prohibited but was afforded time slots … —Jonathan Kozol, Harper's, September 2005
- 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 Teeth2000
- 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
- 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
- This is a secret and confidential communication which I am trusting you to answer on the sly. —Alexander Woollcott, letter, 20 Oct. 1934
- 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
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Origin of COMMUNICATION
(see communicate)
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to COMMUNICATION
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
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