Association vs. Society: What's the Difference?
Edited by Huma Saeed || By Sawaira Riaz || Updated on November 22, 2023
"Association" refers to a group of people organized for a common purpose, while "Society" is a community or group with shared customs, laws, or interests.
Key Differences
"Association" and "Society" both refer to gatherings or collectives of individuals, but they differ in the context and implications. An "Association" primarily denotes an organized body of people who come together due to shared interests or purposes. For instance, professional associations unite members of the same profession.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
"Society," on the other hand, has a broader context. It can denote a large group of people who share a cultural, economic, or social environment. It often represents a more complex, structured, and multifaceted group than an association. Societies can be as broad as entire nations or as narrow as specific communities within a city.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Another distinction lies in the nature of their formation. While both can be voluntary, an "Association" is often formed for specific, sometimes temporary, objectives. Conversely, "Society" implies a more enduring entity, often with its set of norms and traditions.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Lastly, while "Association" frequently has a more formal or official connotation, such as groups with membership fees and specific rules, "Society" can be more informal, encompassing the general population or a subset based on cultural or social lines.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Comparison Chart
Definition
Organized group with a common purpose
Community with shared customs, laws, or interests
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
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Example
Professional associations like the AMA
Societies based on culture, like Western society
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Association and Society Definitions
Association
The act of associating or being connected.
The association of these brands boosted their market presence.
Harlon Moss
Oct 10, 2023
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Society
A community of people living together.
Modern society faces numerous challenges.
Harlon Moss
Oct 10, 2023
Association
Connection or cooperation between ideas or events.
There's a strong association between sleep and health.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 10, 2023
Society
Persons of fashionable or high social standing.
He was introduced to high society at a young age.
Harlon Moss
Oct 10, 2023
Association
A mental connection of ideas.
He has an association of rain with sadness.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 10, 2023
Society
An organization of persons with a common interest.
She's a member of the Historical Society.
Harlon Moss
Oct 10, 2023
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Association
Organized body with a common purpose.
She joined the Association of Medical Professionals.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 10, 2023
Society
The totality of people regarded as forming a community of interdependent individuals
Working for the benefit of society.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
The act of associating or being connected with
My parents disapproved of my association with my friends from across town.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
A group of people broadly distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture
Rural society.
Literary society.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
An organized body of people who have an interest, activity, or purpose in common; a society.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
An organization or association of persons engaged in a common profession, activity, or interest
A folklore society.
A society of bird watchers.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
A mental connection or relation between thoughts, feelings, ideas, or sensations
My therapist helped me examine my association of food with comfort.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
The wealthy, socially dominant members of a community. Also called high society.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
The act of expressing a link or connection between two things
"The media's association of visa overstayers with illegality is so strong and common as to shape public attitudes towards them" (Junya Morooka).
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
Companionship; company
Enjoys the society of friends and family members.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
A correlation or causal connection
There is a definite association of exercise with improved health.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
(Biology) A colony or community of organisms, usually of the same species
An insect society.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
(Chemistry) Any of various processes of combination, such as hydration, solvation, or complex-ion formation, depending on relatively weak chemical bonding.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
(countable) A long-standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as language, dress, norms of behavior and artistic forms.
This society has been known for centuries for its colorful clothing and tight-knit family structure.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
(Ecology) A large number of organisms in a specific geographic area constituting a community with one or two dominant species.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
(countable) A group of people who meet from time to time to engage in a common interest; an association or organization.
It was then that they decided to found a society of didgeridoo-playing unicyclists.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
(countable) The sum total of all voluntary interrelations between individuals.
The gap between Western and Eastern societies seems to be narrowing.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
(countable) The state of being associated; a connection to or an affiliation with something.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
(uncountable) The people of one’s country or community taken as a whole.
Our global society develops in fits and starts.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
(statistics) Any relationship between two measured quantities that renders them statistically dependent (but not necessarily causal or a correlation).
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
(uncountable) High society.
Smith was first introduced into society at the Duchess of Grand Fenwick's annual rose garden party.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
A group of persons associated for a common purpose; an organization; society.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
A number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act toward a common goal.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
(object-oriented programming) Relationship between classes of objects that allows one object instance to cause another to perform an action on its behalf.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
The relationship of men to one another when associated in any way; companionship; fellowship; company.
There is society where none intrudesBy the deep sea, and music in its roar.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
A benevolent overseas Chinese organization of popular origin for overseas Chinese individuals with the same surname or trade or business.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
Connection; participation; partnership.
The meanest of the people and such as have the least society with the acts and crimes of kings.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
The act of associating, or state of being associated; union; connection, whether of persons of things.
Self-denial is a kind of holy association with God.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
A number of persons associated for any temporary or permanent object; an association for mutual or joint usefulness, pleasure, or profit; a social union; a partnership; as, a missionary society.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
Mental connection, or that which is mentally linked or associated with a thing.
Words . . . must owe their powers association.
Why should . . . the holiest words, with all their venerable associations, be profaned?
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
The persons, collectively considered, who live in any region or at any period; any community of individuals who are united together by a common bond of nearness or intercourse; those who recognize each other as associates, friends, and acquaintances.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
Union of persons in a company or society for some particular purpose; as, the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a benevolent association. Specifically, as among the Congregationalists, a society, consisting of a number of ministers, generally the pastors of neighboring churches, united for promoting the interests of religion and the harmony of the churches.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
Specifically, the more cultivated portion of any community in its social relations and influences; those who mutually give receive formal entertainments.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
A formal organization of people or groups of people;
He joined the Modern Language Association
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
An extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
The act of consorting with or joining with others;
You cannot be convicted of criminal guilt by association
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
A formal association of people with similar interests;
He joined a golf club
They formed a small lunch society
Men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen today
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
The state of being connected together as in memory or imagination;
His association of his father with being beaten was too strong to break
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
The state of being with someone;
He missed their company
He enjoyed the society of his friends
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
A social or business relationship;
A valuable financial affiliation
He was sorry he had to sever his ties with other members of the team
Many close associations with England
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
The process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination;
Conditioning is a form of learning by association
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Society
The aggregate of people in a community.
Society's views on certain topics have evolved.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 10, 2023
Association
A relation resulting from interaction or dependence;
Flints were found in association with the prehistoric remains of the bear
The host is not always injured by association with a parasite
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
(chemistry) any process of combination (especially in solution) that depends on relatively weak chemical bonding
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
(ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 09, 2023
Association
A group of people united in a joint action.
They formed an association to preserve the historic site.
Harlon Moss
Oct 10, 2023
FAQs
Do all associations have membership fees?
Not necessarily, though many formal associations do.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Can the word society represent an organization like an association?
Yes, e.g., "The Historical Society."
Sara Rehman
Nov 21, 2023
Can an association be informal?
Yes, but they're often more structured with specific objectives.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Can an association be temporary?
Yes, associations can be formed for short-term purposes.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Is a society always a large group of people?
No, a society can represent both large populations and smaller communities.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Is a society necessarily organized?
Not always formally, but societies have structures, norms, and traditions.
Harlon Moss
Nov 21, 2023
What's a primary goal of many associations?
Often, to support and promote shared professional or personal interests.
Sara Rehman
Nov 21, 2023
Can association refer to a mental connection?
Yes, e.g., "He has an association of rain with sadness."
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Are the terms society and culture synonymous?
No, but societies have cultures reflecting shared customs and values.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 21, 2023
Does society encompass a nation's entire population?
It can, but the term can also refer to specific communities or groups within a nation.
Sara Rehman
Nov 21, 2023
About Author
Written by
Sawaira RiazSawaira is a dedicated content editor at difference.wiki, where she meticulously refines articles to ensure clarity and accuracy. With a keen eye for detail, she upholds the site's commitment to delivering insightful and precise content.
Edited by
Huma SaeedHuma is a renowned researcher acclaimed for her innovative work in Difference Wiki. Her dedication has led to key breakthroughs, establishing her prominence in academia. Her contributions continually inspire and guide her field.
