— associational , adj.
/euh soh'see ay"sheuhn, -shee-/ , n.
1. an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure.
2. the act of associating or state of being associated.
3. friendship; companionship: Their close association did not last long.
4. connection or combination.
5. the connection or relation of ideas, feelings, sensations, etc.; correlation of elements of perception, reasoning, or the like.
6. an idea, image, feeling, etc., suggested by or connected with something other than itself; an accompanying thought, emotion, or the like; an overtone or connotation: My associations with that painting are of springlike days.
7. Ecol. a group of plants of one or more species living together under uniform environmental conditions and having a uniform and distinctive aspect.
8. Chem. a weak form of chemical bonding involving aggregation of molecules of the same compound.
9. See touch football .
10. Astron. See stellar association .
[ 1525-35; ( association- (s. of associatio ). See ASSOCIATE, -ION ]
Syn. 1. alliance, union; society, company; band. 3. fellowship.