What does Society mean?

Definitions for Society
səˈsaɪ ɪ tiso·ci·ety

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Society.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. societynoun

    an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization

  2. club, social club, society, guild, gild, lodge, ordernoun

    a formal association of people with similar interests

    "he joined a golf club"; "they formed a small lunch society"; "men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen today"

  3. company, companionship, fellowship, societynoun

    the state of being with someone

    "he missed their company"; "he enjoyed the society of his friends"

  4. society, high society, beau monde, smart set, bon tonnoun

    the fashionable elite

Wiktionary

  1. societynoun

    A long-standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as language, dress, norms of behavior and artistic forms.

    This society has been known for centuries for its colorful clothing and tight-knit family structure.

  2. societynoun

    A group of people who meet from time to time to engage in a common interest; an association or organization.

    It was then that they decided to found a society of didgeridoo-playing unicyclists.

  3. societynoun

    The sum total of all voluntary interrelations between individuals.

  4. societynoun

    The people of one's country or community taken as a whole.

  5. societynoun

    High society.

    Smith was first introduced into society at the Duchess of Grand Fenwick's annual rose garden party.

  6. societynoun

    A number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act toward a common goal.

  7. Etymology: From societé, from societas.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Societynoun

    Etymology: societé, French; societas, Latin.

    As the practice of piety and virtue is agreeable to our reason, so is it for the interest of private persons and publick societies. John Tillotson.

    To make society
    The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself
    Till supper time alone. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    Whilst I was big in clamour, came there a man,
    Who having seen me in my worser state,
    Shunn’d my abhorr’d society. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

    Solitude sometimes is best society,
    And short retirement urges sweet return. John Milton.

    Among unequals what society can sort? John Milton.

    Heav’n’s greatness no society can bear;
    Servants he made, and those thou want’st not here. Dryden.

Wikipedia

  1. Society

    A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent of members. In the social sciences, a larger society often exhibits stratification or dominance patterns in subgroups. Societies construct patterns of behavior by deeming certain actions or concepts as acceptable or unacceptable. These patterns of behavior within a given society are known as societal norms. Societies, and their norms, undergo gradual and perpetual changes. So far as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would otherwise be difficult on an individual basis; both individual and social (common) benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap. A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as a subculture, a term used extensively within criminology, and also applied to distinctive subsections of a larger society. More broadly, and especially within structuralist thought, a society may be illustrated as an economic, social, industrial or cultural infrastructure, made up of, yet distinct from, a varied collection of individuals. In this regard society can mean the objective relationships people have with the material world and with other people, rather than "other people" beyond the individual and their familiar social environment.

ChatGPT

  1. society

    Society is a group of individuals who share common customs, traditions, values, and norms, living together in a specific geographic area, and interacting with each other. It is a social structure that shapes and influences the behavior, beliefs, and attitudes of its members. Society can be organized and governed by systems and institutions to maintain order, facilitate cooperation, and provide collective well-being.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Societynoun

    the relationship of men to one another when associated in any way; companionship; fellowship; company

  2. Societynoun

    connection; participation; partnership

  3. Societynoun

    a number of persons associated for any temporary or permanent object; an association for mutual or joint usefulness, pleasure, or profit; a social union; a partnership; as, a missionary society

  4. Societynoun

    the persons, collectively considered, who live in any region or at any period; any community of individuals who are united together by a common bond of nearness or intercourse; those who recognize each other as associates, friends, and acquaintances

  5. Societynoun

    specifically, the more cultivated portion of any community in its social relations and influences; those who mutually give receive formal entertainments

  6. Etymology: [L. societas, fr. socius a companion: cf. F. socit. See Social.]

Wikidata

  1. Society

    A society, or a human society, is a group of people involved with each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent members. In the social sciences, a larger society often evinces stratification and/or dominance patterns in subgroups. Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap. A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as a subculture, a term used extensively within criminology. More broadly, a society may be illustrated as an economic, social, or industrial infrastructure, made up of a varied collection of individuals. Members of a society may be from different ethnic groups. A society can be a particular ethnic group, such as the Saxons; a nation state, such as Bhutan; or a broader cultural group, such as a Western society. The word society may also refer to an organized voluntary association of people for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes. A "society" may even, though more by means of metaphor, refer to a social organism such as an ant colony or any cooperative aggregate such as, for example, in some formulations of artificial intelligence.

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. society

    1. An erotic clique that reads _Vogue_, _Smart Set_ and _Town Topics_. 2. A congregation of people who are not persons. 3. A vast interchange of service through labor, ideas and commodities. 4. A relish for solitude.

Editors Contribution

  1. society

    The people of a specific area, community, locality, region, country, nation or planet as an intelligent being, consciousness and whole.

    Society has a duty of to provide an existence where everyone lives in harmony and balance and everything is shared and created for the optimum health, human rights and shared prosperity of all members of society.


    Submitted by MaryC on February 13, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. society

    Song lyrics by society -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by society on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Society' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #354

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Society' in Written Corpus Frequency: #889

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Society' in Nouns Frequency: #93

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce Society?

How to say Society in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Society in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Society in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of Society in a Sentence

  1. Edward Berenson:

    There’s a relationship between the Egyptian statue that Bartholdi first conceived in the late 1860s, but that statue changed as it migrated to the United States. The original version of the statue made sense for Egyptian society. It wouldn’t have made sense for America.

  2. Chairwoman Yuli Rustinawati:

    They have pushed us into a corner, lGBT people have been pushed and are living now in fear because of the statements from the government, ministers, mayors, calling on society to beware of us.

  3. Bob Dudley:

    But we can only fully play our part if we have the trust of society and the confidence of our shareholders. That means engaging more with the young people who will take to the streets on Friday, it means improving the dialogue we have with policymakers around the world, including those behind the Green New Deal.

  4. David Guas:

    Current king cake rituals in New Orleans evolved from the late 1800s when Mardi Gras Krewes( a term for parade and party organizing society groups) used King Cakes to choose queens and kings to preside over weekly balls, beginning with the Twelfth Night Ball.

  5. Janet Jackson:

    Dreams can become a reality when we possess a vision that is characterized by the willingness to work hard, a desire for excellence and a belief in our right and our responsibility to be equal members of society.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Society#1#711#10000

Translations for Society

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"Society." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 13 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Society>.

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