commune

1 of 2

verb

com·​mune kə-ˈmyün 

communed; communing

transitive verb

obsolete : talk over, discuss

have more to commune

—William Shakespeare

intransitive verb

1

: to receive Communion

The people who had communed returned to their pews using the side aisles.

2

: to communicate intimately

commune with nature

… he stands communing with his soul on a bridge …

—Richard Alleva

commune

2 of 2

noun

com·​mune ˈkäm-ˌyün 

kə-ˈmyün,

kä-

1

: the smallest administrative district of many countries especially in Europe

2

: commonalty sense 1a

3

: community: such as

a

: a medieval usually municipal corporation

b(1)

: mir

(2)

: an often rural community organized on a communal basis

Synonyms

Verb

• bond
• click
• relate

Examples of commune in a Sentence

Verb

a psychic who communes with the dead

after a week in the wilderness, the scouts were really starting to commune with nature

Noun

He's living in a religious commune.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Developed by Brazilian playwright Augusto Boal, the practice aims to erase the lines between actor and audience, leveling the playing field and allowing all to commune over social and political truths. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 16 Nov. 2023

The island's deep commitment to the environment and sustainability makes Bonaire particularly ideal for communing with nature, both above and below the waves. —Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2023

An easy way to commune with the moon is to go outside and look at it. —Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2023

The church is the people (Matthew 16:18), and a safe place for Christians to commune together in faith. —Maxine Harrison, refinery29.com, 11 Sep. 2023

The pairing of cacao and mushrooms can be traced back thousands of years: Ceremonies in which fungi were mixed with cacao in an attempt to commune with the divine were an integral part of many Mesoamerican cultures. —Megan Bradley, New York Times, 12 July 2023

Most attendees travel to the stark desert for a week to express themselves with music and art, and to commune with nature. —Ed Komenda, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2023

Pausing to look closely at a bird, to enjoy its song, is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to commune with nature. —Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023

Both the opera and the film include a scene in which Oppenheimer is seen alone at the tower, communing with the tentacled bomb. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 July 2023

Noun

In recent years, as other communes in Israel were privatizing land or declaring bankruptcy, Be’eri had twelve hundred members and a long wait list of young couples desperate to move in. —Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2023

Sometimes victims would be worshipped as gods before having their hearts torn out; sometimes Aztecs engaged in ritual cannibalism, eating human flesh to commune with the gods. —Sam Kriss, Harper's Magazine, 16 Oct. 2023

The 24-part one hour series begins on an idyllic commune on the shores of Crete in 1969, where love and freedom intertwine, until a murder exposes the messy entanglements spurred on by the hippie residents. —Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 12 Oct. 2023

Moss-Bachrach instead went to bars on the South Side to commune with Chicagoans. —Melena Ryzik, New York Times, 22 June 2023

Raised in a Bay Area commune, Lorin Ashton, now 45, cut his teeth playing bass guitar in a death metal band before pivoting to electronic music in the mid-1990s. —Delilah Friedler, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2023

These one-percenters gather here to display, commune with, ogle, and bitchily judge one another's irreplaceable vintage automobiles. —Brett Berk, Car and Driver, 12 Aug. 2023

The production asks us to commune with Morrison’s radioactive words and insights, to reckon with the story in a public forum. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023

When their shelter is violently raided, the young mothers decide to travel to the commune together. —Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, to share, receive Communion, from Anglo-French communer, cummunier, from Late Latin communicare, from Latin — see communicate

Noun

French, alteration of Middle French comugne, from Medieval Latin communia, from Latin, neuter plural of communis

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

1673, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

commune

1 of 2 verb

com·​mune kə-ˈmyün 

communed; communing

1

: to receive Communion

2

: to be in close communication with someone or something

commune with nature

commune

2 of 2 noun

com·​mune ˈkäm-ˌyün 

kə-ˈmyün

1

: the smallest administrative district of many countries especially in Europe

2

: a small group of people that live together and share property and duties