convention

noun

Simple meaning

A formal deliberative assembly of mandated delegates.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kuhnvehnshuhn

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

kənˈvɛnʃən

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

A formal deliberative assembly of mandated delegates.
A practice or procedure widely observed in a group, especially to facilitate social interaction; a custom.
A formal agreement, contract, rule, or pact.
A large formal assembly
A meeting or gathering.
The convening of a formal meeting.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A formal deliberative assembly of mandated delegates.

Used this way, convention is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use convention

“The convention of not naming the main character.”noun
“Political convention.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Practice

general conventiondemocratic convention

International

international convention

Other combinations

convention centerannual conventionstate conventioneuropean conventionpresent convention

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

conventionaladjectiveDerived adjective
Following accepted customs and proprieties.
conventionallyadverbDerived adverb
In a conventional manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

american baptist conventionnounCompound term
An association of Northern Baptists.
geneva conventionnounCompound term
An agreement first drawn up in Geneva in 1864 and later revised concerning the treatment of captured and wounded military personnel and civilians in wartime.
northern baptist conventionnounCompound term
An association of Northern Baptists.
southern baptist conventionnounCompound term
An association of Southern Baptists.
chemical weapons conventionnounCompound term
A global treaty banning the production or acquisition or stockpiling or transfer or use of chemical weapons.
constitutional conventionnounCompound term
The convention of United States statesmen who drafted the United States Constitution in 1787.

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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.