Definitions for society
səˈsaɪ ɪ tiso·ci·ety

Princeton's WordNet(2.85 / 26 votes)Rate this definition:

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(2.86 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Societynoun

   Etymology: societé, French; societas, Latin.

   1. Union of many in one general interest.2. Numbers united in one interest; community.

   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.

   3. Company; converse.

   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.

   4. Partnership; union on equal terms.

   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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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.

Webster Dictionary(2.80 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

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.]

Freebase(3.72 / 14 votes)Rate this definition:

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(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

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(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

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(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. society

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

Matched Categories

1. • Association
   • Elite
   • Friendship
   • Social Group

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

How to pronounce society?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Epidemiologist Lee Newman:

   We don't have enough tests being done to know how long we need to wait, how long we need to keep the society at the same level as we're at now in terms of closures.

2. Steven Levin:

   He looks forward to serving as a productive member of society.

3. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:

   The order to introduce troops into Ukraine is not only an order to send them to certain death, it is also an order to all Belarusians to give up their independence and their future, despite the Russian propaganda, the attitude of the Belarusian society to the war is very different from the Russian one. The absolute majority of Belarusians, regardless of their political preferences, are unequivocally against the war with Ukraine or any war involving Belarus.

4. Beatriz Lozano:

   As members of this society it is our responsibility to hold US corporations accountable, by being complicit in their actions we are being complicit in the targeting of the Latinx community and the racist torture and trauma that is being inflicted. We have the power to end this cruelty.

5. Elbert Hubbard:

   Truth, in its struggles for recognition, passes through four distinct stages. First, we say it is damnable, dangerous, disorderly, and will surely disrupt society. Second, we declare it is heretical, infidelic and contrary to the Bible. Third, we say it is really a matter of no importance either one way or the other. Fourth, we aver that we have always upheld it and believed it.

Popularity rank by frequency of use