Meaning & use
alliance
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A formal agreement between countries, groups, or people to support each other and work together for a shared aim.
Grammar: Countable: an alliance, two alliances; often followed by between or with.
Patterns
- an alliance with someone
- an alliance between A and B
- an alliance against someone
The two countries signed an alliance to defend each other.
Several small parties formed an alliance before the election.
An alliance between local farmers and shops helped sell more produce.
nouncountable or uncountable
A close connection or partnership based on shared interests or qualities.
Grammar: Less formal and can be abstract: an alliance of skill and luck.
Patterns
- in alliance with someone
- an alliance of A and B
The singer works in alliance with a local charity.
The recipe is an alliance of sweet and sour flavors.
Her success came from an alliance of talent and hard work.
Word forms
| plural | alliances |
|---|
Common combinations
- form an alliance
- The two firms formed an alliance to share costs.
- forge an alliance
- The leaders forged an alliance after years of tension.
- break an alliance
- The country broke the alliance after the dispute.
- military alliance
- NATO is a military alliance.
- in alliance with
- The union acted in alliance with student groups.
- a strategic alliance
- The airlines built a strategic alliance.
Synonyms and how they differ
- partnership
- Partnership is broader and warmer, and suits business or personal teamwork, while alliance often suggests a strategic, formal pact.
- coalition
- Coalition usually means groups joining temporarily, often parties in government.
- pact
- A pact is the formal agreement itself, while an alliance is the whole relationship that results.
- union
- Union suggests a deeper joining that can create a single body.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: alliance or alliteration?
alliance vs alliteration
Alliteration is repeating the same starting sound in nearby words, and is not connected with agreements.
Practice
Several nations signed a defense ___ promising to help each other if attacked.
Choose one answer.
An alliance is a formal agreement to support each other. Allowance is money given regularly, alliteration is a sound pattern, and alignment is a lining up.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alliance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.