Meaning & use
hivemind
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Meanings
nounsingularfigurativeinformal
A group whose members think and act so alike that they seem to share one mind, often with little room for individual opinion.
Grammar: Used with an or the: the hivemind decided; it is not normally pluralized.
Patterns
- the hivemind of something
- part of a hivemind
Online fan forums can turn into a hivemind where nobody dares to disagree.
She refused to join the office hivemind and gave her own opinion on the plan.
The company's hivemind rejected the idea before anyone had really considered it.
nouncountable
In science fiction, a single shared consciousness that links many separate creatures or machines together.
Grammar: Can take an or the: the aliens had a hivemind.
Patterns
- a hivemind of something
In the novel, the insect-like invaders are controlled by a hivemind.
The robots operate as a hivemind, so one learns and all of them know.
Fans argued about whether the villain was a person or a hivemind.
Word forms
| plural | hiveminds |
|---|
Common combinations
- part of the hivemind
- After a year at the firm he felt like part of the hivemind.
- a collective hivemind
- The comment section acted like a collective hivemind.
- social media hivemind
- The social media hivemind turned against the film within hours.
- join the hivemind
- I would rather think for myself than join the hivemind.
- break free from the hivemind
- The hero finally breaks free from the hivemind.
Synonyms and how they differ
- groupthink
- Groupthink names the habit of going along with the group, while hivemind pictures the group as one mind.
- herd mentality
- Herd mentality stresses following the crowd emotionally, whereas hivemind suggests shared thinking or a single shared consciousness.
- collective consciousness
- This is more formal and neutral, used in philosophy and sociology, while hivemind is informal and often mocking.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: hivemind or groupthink?
hivemind vs groupthink
Groupthink is a psychological term for poor decision-making in groups; hivemind is a looser, more image-based word.
Practice
The comment section turned into a ____ where everyone repeated the same opinion.
Choose one answer.
A hivemind is a group that thinks alike. The other nouns do not describe shared thinking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hivemind”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.