ally
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A person, group, state, etc., which is associated or united by treaty with another for a common purpose.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aleyeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈælaɪ
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
A person, group, state, etc., which is associated or united by treaty with another for a common (especially military or political) purpose; a confederate.
People, groups, states, etc., which are associated or united with each other for a common purpose; confederates; also, the state of being allied; alliance, confederation.
A person who co-operates with or helps another; an associate; a friend.
figuratively
A person, group, concept, etc., which is associated with another as a helper; an auxiliary; a supporter.
A person who, or organization which, supports a demographic group subject to discrimination and/or misrepresentation but is not a member of the group; specifically (LGBTQ), a person who is not a member of the LGBT+ community but is supportive of it.
One's relatives; kin, kindred, relations; also, relationship through descent or marriage; kinship.
verb
transitive
To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty.
intransitive
Chiefly followed by with: to enter into an alliance or unite for a common aim.
transitive
Chiefly followed by to or with: to connect or form a relation to (someone or something) by similarity in features or nature.
transitivereflexive
To join or unite (oneself or itself) against, with, etc., someone or something else.
Become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person, group, state, etc., which is associated or united by treaty with another for a common (especially military or political) purpose; a confederate.
Used this way, ally is a specialist word with a clearly warm, approving pull. This is a military use: it belongs to service and operational language.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Military
- Historical writing
- News/reporting
- Government/politics
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use ally
- “Our country has been a strong ally to its neighbors during times of conflict.”noun
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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.