Meaning & use
associate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To link one thing with another in your mind, because they often appear or happen together.
Grammar: Takes an object and with: associate rain with sadness.
Patterns
- associate something with something
- be associated with something
Many people associate the smell of pine with Christmas.
I associate that song with my summer in Spain.
Doctors have long associated poor sleep with heart problems.
verbintransitive
To spend time with a person or group, often one that others disapprove of.
Grammar: No object; followed by with: associate with troublemakers.
Patterns
- associate with someone
Her parents did not want her to associate with that crowd.
He was careful about whom he associated with at work.
They rarely associated with their neighbors.
verbtransitiveformal
To connect yourself or your name with a cause, group or opinion, as a reflexive use.
Grammar: Usually reflexive and followed by with: she did not want to associate herself with the scandal.
Patterns
- associate yourself with something
The charity refused to associate itself with the controversial campaign.
He asked that his name not be associated with the plan.
She was happy to associate herself with the school's mission.
nouncountable
A person you work with or are connected to, such as a business partner or a more junior member of a firm.
Grammar: Pronounced /ˈəsəʊʃiət/ as a noun: a business associate.
Patterns
- an associate of someone
He introduced her as a former business associate.
The law firm hired three new associates this year.
Police questioned a known associate of the suspect.
Word forms
| third person singular | associates |
|---|---|
| past tense | associated |
| past participle | associated |
| -ing form | associating |
| plural (noun) | associates |
Common combinations
- closely associated with
- The festival is closely associated with the city's harbor.
- associate with
- He prefers not to associate with people who gossip.
- business associate
- A business associate gave me her number.
- associate professor
- She was promoted to associate professor last spring.
- commonly associated
- Fatigue is commonly associated with a lack of iron.
Synonyms and how they differ
- connect
- Connect is broader and neutral, whereas associate often implies a link in someone's mind or reputation.
- link
- Link stresses a factual or logical tie, while associate can describe a loose mental or social tie.
- mix
- Mix, as in mix with people, is more casual and about social contact only.
- colleague
- Colleague, for the noun sense, means someone who works in the same organization, while associate can be an outside partner.
Opposites
Word family
- association noun
- a link or a group of people with a shared aim
- associated adjective
- connected with something
- associative adjective
- relating to mental connection
- disassociate verb
- to separate yourself from something
Commonly confused: associate or assimilate?
associate vs assimilate
Assimilate means to absorb or blend into a group, not just to link two things in the mind.
Practice
Many people ___ the color white with weddings.
Choose one answer.
Associate with means to connect two ideas in the mind. Assimilate means to absorb or fit into, so it does not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “associate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.