co ‧ a ‧ li ‧ tion /ˌkəʊəˈlɪʃ ə n $ ˌkoʊə-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin coalitus , past participle of coalescere ; ⇨ ↑ coalesce ]
1 . [countable] a union of two or more political parties that allows them to form a government or fight an election together
coalition of
a coalition of democratic forces
the centre-right coalition government
an emergency meeting of the three coalition parties
2 . [countable] a group of people who join together to achieve a particular purpose, usually a political one
coalition of
a coalition of environmental groups
3 . [uncountable] a process in which two or more political parties or groups join together:
He hoped to convert his party members to a belief in coalition.
in coalition with somebody
He was working in coalition with other Unionist leaders.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ form a coalition
The Social Democrats rejected their offer to form a coalition.
▪ join a coalition
The Greens of Slovenia agreed to join the coalition led by the Liberal Democratic party.
▪ lead/head a coalition
The coalition was led by the Christian Democrats and the Socialists.
▪ a coalition collapses/breaks up
Austria's ruling government coalition collapsed.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + coalition
▪ the ruling/governing coalition
The March elections may weaken the ruling coalition.
▪ the opposition coalition (=forming an opposition party to the government)
The opposition coalition's strength increased from 37 to 53 seats.
▪ a political coalition
a political coalition of centre parties
▪ a two-party/three-party etc coalition
The composition of the three-party coalition remains unchanged.
▪ a left-wing/right-wing etc coalition
The left-wing coalition was led by the former guerrilla movement.
■ coalition + NOUN
▪ a coalition government
There is little enthusiasm among voters for a coalition government.
▪ a coalition partner
There were fundamental differences between the two main coalition partners.
▪ a coalition member
Some coalition members are unhappy with the proposal.
▪ a coalition party
The treaty required the backing of both governing coalition parties.