society

¹so·ci·e·ty

noun \sə-ˈsī-ə-tē\

plural so·ci·e·ties

Definition of SOCIETY

1

: companionship or association with one's fellows : friendly or intimate intercourse : company

2

: a voluntary association of individuals for common ends; especially : an organized group working together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or profession

3

a : an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another b : a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests

4

a : a part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living or conduct : a social circle or a group of social circles having a clearly marked identity <literary society> b : a part of the community that sets itself apart as a leisure class and that regards itself as the arbiter of fashion and manners

5

a : a natural group of plants usually of a single species or habit within an association b : the progeny of a pair of insects when constituting a social unit (as a hive of bees); broadly : an interdependent system of organisms or biological units

Examples of SOCIETY

1. Poverty hurts society as a whole.
2. We need to do more to help the poorer members of our society.
3. the values of Western society
4. She was introduced to society at a formal reception.
5. The club's members are drawn from the ranks of high society.

Origin of SOCIETY

Middle French societé, from Latin societat-, societas, from socius companion — more at social

First Known Use: 1531

Related to SOCIETY

Synonyms: board, brotherhood, chamber, club, college, congress, consortium, council, fellowship, fraternity, guild (also gild), institute, institution, league, order, organization, association, sodality

Related Words: collective, commune, community, cooperative; alliance, bloc, camp, coalition, partnership; body, cadre, group; circle, clan, clique, coterie, junta, junto, klatch (also klatsch), lot, set; crew, outfit, party, squad, team; branch, chapter, local; faithful, fold, membership; sisterhood, sorority; cabal, camarilla, camorra, confederacy, conspiracy; band, gang, ring; cartel, combine, syndicate

Near Antonyms: forlornness, loneliness, lonesomeness

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Sociology Terms

bourgeois, ethos, eugenics, exurb, incommunicado, intelligentsia, megalopolis, metrosexual, mores, subculture

Rhymes with SOCIETY

anxiety, impiety, nimiety, propriety, sobriety, variety