First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
communication
noun com·mu·ni·ca·tion \kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\
: the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else
: a message that is given to someone : a letter, telephone call, etc.
communications : the ways of sending information to people by using technology
Full Definition of COMMUNICATION
1
: an act or instance of transmitting
2
a : information transmitted or conveyed b : a verbal or written message
3
4
plural a : a system (as of telephones) for transmitting or exchanging information b : a system of routes for moving troops, supplies, and vehicles c : personnel engaged in transmitting or exchanging information
5
plural but sing or plural in constr a : a technique for expressing ideas effectively (as in speech) b : the technology of the transmission of information (as by print or telecommunication)
— com·mu·ni·ca·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-nəl\ adjective
See communication defined for English-language learners
See communication defined for kids
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Examples of COMMUNICATION
- Communication between children in the class was not prohibited but was afforded time slots … —Jonathan Kozol, Harper's, September 2005
- You don't talk to him, he talks at you. You scream and shout at each other, but there's no communication. —Zadie Smith, White Teeth, 2000
- It's not an oral communication. It's body language, eye contact, the grinning, the little signals that go on between people. —Keith Richards, quoted in Rolling Stone, 14-28 July 1994
- If the book is good and even if one is reading to oneself, what is happening is a very special sort of social event, a communication between writer and reader … —Walker Percy, “Another Message In The Bottle,” in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991
- This is a secret and confidential communication which I am trusting you to answer on the sly. —Alexander Woollcott, letter, 20 Oct. 1934
- Whom else had she to open her heart to? If she did not need counsel, she must need the comfort of communication. —Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814
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Origin of COMMUNICATION
(see communicate)
Rhymes with COMMUNICATION
abbreviation, abomination, acceleration, accentuation, accommodation, accreditation, acculturation, accumulation, actualization, adjudication, administration, adulteration, affiliation, agglomeration, alienation, alleviation, alliteration, amalgamation, amelioration, amplification, anglicization, annihilation, annunciation, anticipation, appreciation, appropriation, approximation, argumentation, articulation, asphyxiation, assassination, asseveration, assimilation, association, atomization, attenuation, authentication, authorization, autoxidation, balkanization, bastardization, beautification, bowdlerization, calcification, canonization, capitulation, centralization, certification, cicatrization, civilization, clarification, classification, coagulation, codification, coeducation, cogeneration, cohabitation, collaboration, colonization, colorization, commemoration, commiseration, concatenation, conciliation, confabulation, confederation, configuration, conglomeration, congratulation, consideration, consolidation, contamination, continuation, cooperation, coordination, corroboration, cross-pollination, crystallization, deactivation, debilitation, decapitation, deceleration, deconsecration, de-escalation, defenestration, defibrillation, deforestation, defragmentation, degeneration, deification, deliberation, delineation, demonization, denomination, denunciation, depopulation, depreciation, deracination, deregulation, desegregation, despoliation, determination, devaluation, digitization, disapprobation, discoloration, discrimination, disembarkation, disinclination, disinformation, disintegration, Disneyfication, dissemination, dissimulation, dissociation, documentation, domestication, dramatization, echolocation, edification, ejaculation, elaboration, elimination, elucidation, emaciation, emancipation, emasculation, enumeration, enunciation, equalization, equivocation, eradication, evacuation, evaluation, evaporation, evisceration, exaggeration, examination, exasperation, exhilaration, exoneration, expropriation, extenuation, extermination, extrapolation, facilitation, falsification, felicitation, feminization, fertilization, feudalization, finalization, Finlandization, formalization, fortification, fossilization, gasification, gentrification, gesticulation, globalization, glorification, gratification, habituation, hallucination, harmonization, humanization, humiliation, hyperinflation, idolization, illumination, imagination, impersonation, implementation, improvisation, inauguration, incarceration, incineration, incorporation, incrimination, indoctrination, inebriation, infatuation, initiation, inoculation, insemination, insinuation, instrumentation, internalization, interpretation, interrelation, interrogation, intimidation, intoxication, invagination, invalidation, investigation, invigoration, irradiation, itemization, justification, legalization, liberalization, magnetization, magnification, maladaptation, manifestation, manipulation, matriculation, maximization, mechanization, memorization, miscegenation, mobilization, modernization, modification, mortification, multiplication, mystification, nationalization, naturalization, negotiation, normalization, notification, novelization, nullification, obliteration, organization, origination, orientation, ornamentation, ossification, oxygenation, pacification, paralyzation, participation, pasteurization, perambulation, peregrination, perpetuation, personalization, petrification, polarization, pontification, precipitation, predestination, prefabrication, prefiguration, premeditation, preoccupation, preordination, preregistration, prettification, privatization, procrastination, prognostication, proliferation, propitiation, purification, qualification, ramification, randomization, ratification, realization, reciprocation, recombination, recommendation, recrimination, recuperation, redecoration, reduplication, reforestation, refrigeration, regeneration, regimentation, regurgitation, reification, reincarnation, reintegration, reiteration, rejuvenation, remuneration, renunciation, repatriation, representation, republication, repudiation, retaliation, reverberation, sanctification, scarification, sedimentation, sensitization, Serbo-Croatian, signification, simplification, socialization, solicitation, sophistication, specialization, specification, stabilization, standardization, sterilization, stratification, subordination, subpopulation, supplementation, synchronization, systemization, teleportation, tergiversation, transfiguration, transliteration, transvaluation, triangulation, uglification, unification, unionization, urbanization, verification, versification, victimization, vilification, vituperation, vocalization, vulgarization, westernization, x-radiation
COMMUNICATION Defined for Kids
communication
noun com·mu·ni·ca·tion \kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\
Definition of COMMUNICATION for Kids
1
: the exchange (as by speech or letter) of information between persons
2
: information exchanged
3
communications plural : a system of sending information
4
communications plural : a system of routes for transportation
Medical Dictionary
communication
noun com·mu·ni·ca·tion \kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\
Medical Definition of COMMUNICATION
1
: the act or process of transmitting information (as about ideas, attitudes, emotions, or objective behavior) <nonverbal interpersonal communication> <emotional communication between parent and child—G. S. Blum>: a : exchange of information between individuals through a common system of signs, symbols, or behavior <pictorial representation is a usable channel of communication between humans and the chimpanzee> <the function of pheromones in insect communication> b : personal rapport <a lack of communication between young and old persons>
2
: information communicated
3
: a connection between bodily parts <an artificial communication between the esophagus and the stomach>
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