treaty
verb · noun
Simple meaning
A formal binding agreement concluded by subjects of international law, namely, states and international organizations.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
treeteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɹiti
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.
verb
transitive
To get into (a specific situation) through a treaty.
intransitive
To enter into a treaty.
noun
countableinternational law
A formal binding agreement concluded by subjects of international law, namely, states and international organizations; a convention, a pact.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (countable, international law) A formal binding agreement concluded by subjects of international law, namely, states and international organizations; a convention, a pact.
Used this way, treaty is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
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 treaty
- “The two countries signed a new treaty to ensure peace.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Care provided to improve a situation (especially medical procedures or applications that are intended to relieve illness or injury).
A formal exposition.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans.
The treaty signed in 1949 by 12 countries that established NATO.
An international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security.
A treaty to cease hostilities.
A sale of property at a price agreed on by the seller and buyer without an intervening agency.
A treaty governing commerce between two or more nations.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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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.