I. as·so·ci·ate əˈsōs(h)ēˌāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English associat (3d person singular past indicative), from Latin associatus, past participle of associare
transitive verb
1.
a. : to join often in a loose relationship as a partner, fellow worker, colleague, friend, companion, or ally
was associated with him in a large law firm
were closely associated with each other during the war
b. : to elect as an associate
was associated to the Royal Academy — Robert Southey
2. obsolete : to keep company with : attend
friends should associate friends in grief and woe — Shakespeare
3. : to join (things) together or connect (one thing) with another : combine
particles of gold associated with heavy minerals
4. : to join or connect in any of various intangible or unspecified ways (as in general mental, legendary, or historical relationship, in unspecified causal relationship, or in unspecified professional or scholarly relationship)
surrealism has been associated with psychological and intellectual atmosphere common to periods of war — Bernard Smith
she wished to associate him with her unusual mood — J.C.Powys
5. : to submit to public identification (as with a principle or sentiment)
the House will associate itself with these expressions — Sir Winston Churchill
I should wholeheartedly associate myself with the general libertarian views — Felix Frankfurter
6. chemistry : to join in loose combinations — see association 7
intransitive verb
1. : to come together as partners, fellow workers, colleagues, friends, companions, or allies
my father's conviction that they were too lowly to associate with me — G.B.Shaw
2. : to combine or join with another or others as component parts : unite
protons and neutrons with their encircling electrons associate together to form atoms — G.W.Gray
3. : to engage in free association
the patient associated freely about his childhood
— see free association
Synonyms: see join
II. as·so·ciate -s(h)ēə̇t, -shə̇t, -shēˌāt, -sēˌāt, usu -d.+V adjective
Etymology: Middle English associat, from Latin associatus, adsociatus, past participle of associare, adsociare to join, unite, from ad- + sociare to join, share, from socius companion — more at social
1. : closely connected, joined, or united with another (as in interest, function, activity, or office) : sharing in responsibility or authority
descent through darkness … to my associate powers — John Milton
an associate judge
2. : closely related especially in the mind : allied , accompanying
they want some associate sounds to make them harmonious — Samuel Johnson
3. : admitted to some but not to all rights and privileges : having a secondary or subordinate status
admitted to associate membership in the society
III. associate noun
( -s )
1. : one associated with another:
a. : one who shares with another an enterprise, business, or action : a fellow worker : partner
the chemist and his associates finally completed their experiment
b. : one who shares with another an office or position of authority : colleague
they were associates on the bench for 20 years
c. : one who is frequently in company with other : companion , comrade
his most intimate associate during his college years
2. : something that is closely connected with or that usually accompanies another : accompaniment , concomitant ; especially : a word or concept linked to another by association
no sooner at any time comes into the understanding but its associate appears with it — John Locke
3.
a. : an officer of the superior common-law courts in England
b. : a member of a learned society or academy ranking below a fellow
an associate of the Royal Academy
c. : a research worker or teacher affiliated with a college, university, or some other professional organization or institution and ranking below a professor or full member
research associate in anthropology
associate in German
associate in medicine
4. often capitalized
a. : a degree conferred by a junior college upon its graduates
associate in arts
b. : a degree or title granted by some colleges and universities to students who finish a course that is complete in itself but shorter than that leading to a bachelor's degree