allies
noun
Form of ally , plural of ally.
Simple meaning
In World War I the alliance of Great Britain and France and Russia and all the other nations that became allied with them in opposing the Central Powers.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
alahyzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈælaɪz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
history
In World War I the alliance of Great Britain and France and Russia and all the other nations that became allied with them in opposing the Central Powers
history
The alliance of nations that fought the Axis in World War II and which (with subsequent additions) signed the charter of the United Nations in 1945
history
The countries allied against the Axis Powers during World War II. The major signatories included the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, and China.
history
The countries allied against the Central Powers during World War I, including especially the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, and France.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: In World War I the alliance of Great Britain and France and Russia and all the other nations that became allied with them in opposing the Central Powers
Used this way, allies is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It turns up most in historical writing and personal or emotional discussion contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Warm and admiring
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Historical writing
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Allies is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.