sociality

noun so·ci·al·i·ty \ ˌsō-shē-ˈa-lə-tē \

|Updated on: 23 May 2018

Definition of sociality

plural socialities

1 a : sociability

b : an instance of social intercourse or sociability

2 : the tendency to associate in or form social groups

Recent Examples of sociality from the Web

One of the most interesting things is the finding that the vasopressin in the CSF correlates with sociality in the macaques and in autism with children.

— andrew joseph, STAT, "In monkeys, researchers find possible biological marker of autism," 2 May 2018
O'Higgins is also interested in studying the origins of sociality by studying muscular anatomy and function in apes and humans.

— ashley strickland, CNN, "This could be why our eyebrows evolved," 9 Apr. 2018
Part of his reason for this was the finding that the relationship between brain and sociality in primates didn’t look so clear-cut in bigger sample sizes with more controls.

— cathleen o'grady, Ars Technica, "Big brains come with big social groups in whales and dolphins," 20 Oct. 2017
Dunbar says that diet is a constraint on brain size, while sociality serves as a cause for brain development.

— ben panko, Smithsonian, "What Really Made Primate Brains So Big?," 29 Mar. 2017
Ken is the world authority on marmots, and he is credited with emphasizing the importance of their annual cycle, which varies by location, in explaining why marmot sociality varies.

— the washington post, The Mercury News, "Groundhog Day: Why I, as a scientist, love it," 1 Feb. 2017
This emotion also sustains our species’ sociality, Professor Cacioppo says.

— eoin o'carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, "Understanding why loneliness exists can help ease it, say scientists," 15 June 2017
The results suggest that the diversification and specialization of olfactory receptors were keys to the evolution of ant sociality.

— natalie angier, New York Times, "Gene-Modified Ants Shed Light on How Societies Are Organized," 23 Jan. 2017
As with the gangs themselves, though, the gangland videos often sit on a blurry line between criminality and sociality.

— ben austen, WIRED, "Public Enemies: Social Media Is Fueling Gang Wars in Chicago," 17 Sep. 2013

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sociality.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of sociality

circa 1649

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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