conjunction
noun/kənˈd͡ʒʌŋk.ʃn̩/
Etymology From Old French conjonction, from Latin coniūnctiō (“joining”), from coniungere (“to join”).
8 senses
- 1The act of joining, or condition of being joined.
- 2A word used to join other words, phrases, or clauses…
- 3Cooccurrence; coincidence.
- 4The alignment of two bodies in the solar system such…
- 5An aspect in which planets are in close proximity to one another.
- 6The proposition resulting from the combination of two or…
- 7A place where multiple things meet.
- 8Sexual intercourse.
The act of joining, or condition of being joined.
- […] Dr. Minchin in return was quite sure that man was not a mere machine or a fortuitous conjunction of atoms; […]1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVIII, in Middlemarch […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I:
- About them all there is that sort of stiff quaint unreality, that conjunction of the grotesque, and even of a certain bourgeois snugness, with passionate contortion and horror, that is so characteristic of Gothic art.1896, Robert Louis Stevenson, Familiar Studies of Men and Books:
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A word used to join other words, phrases, or clauses together into sentences. (The specific conjunction used shows how the two joined parts are related semantically.)
- A comma is placed between short members of compound sentences, connected by and, but, for, nor, or, because, whereas, that expressing purpose (so that, in order that), and other conjunctions.1881, Alfred Ayres [pseudonym; Thomas Embly Osmun], The Verbalist:
Cooccurrence; coincidence.
- […] the coexistence of one such phenomenon with another; or the succession of one such phenomenon to another: their conjunction, in short, so that where the one is found, we may calculate on finding both.1843, John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic, volume 1:
Astronomy, Natural sciences The alignment of two bodies in the solar system such that they have the same longitude when seen from Earth.
- The spectacular conjunction of Venus and Mars gave rise to a myriad of mythical interpretations.2011, Starf*cker […] , Ev Cochrane, →ISBN, page 140:
Astrology, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences An aspect in which planets are in close proximity to one another.
Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences The proposition resulting from the combination of two or more propositions using the ∧ ( and ) operator.
- However, sequence 1 dominates sequence 2, because sequence 1 is strictly included in 2. 2 is 1 preceded by a G; that is, 2 is the conjunction of an initial G with 1.2007 September 19, Eliezer Yudkowsky, “Conjunction Fallacy”, in LessWrong, archived from the original on 03 Feb 2026:
A place where multiple things meet.
- Today there is a mountain called Ararat near the conjunction of the Turkish, Armenian, and Iranian borders.2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 47:
Obsolete Sexual intercourse.
- Certaine Nations (and amongst others, the Mahometane) abhorre Conjunction with women great with childe.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 29, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
- Derived terms
- comparing conjunction, conjunctional, conjunction fallacy, conjunctionless, contrasting conjunction, coordinating conjunction, in conjunction with, misconjunction, subordinating conjunction
- Related terms
- conjugate, conjunctive → conjunctive normal form, disjunction