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

Other Sociology Terms

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

Rhymes with SOCIETY

anxiety, impiety, nimiety, propriety, sobriety, variety

²society

adjective

Definition of SOCIETY

: of, relating to, or typical of fashionable society

First Known Use of SOCIETY

1693