conjunction

[ kuhn-juhngk-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of joining together, or the state of being so joined; combination, union, or association:

   The conjunction of everyday life with the magical is a great source for comedy, as in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream.

   Synonyms: meeting

2. a combination of events or circumstances:

   I gave birth to a daughter in International Women's Year, a happy conjunction that changed my personal and professional life.

3. Grammar.
   1. any member of a small class of words distinguished in many languages by their function as connectors between words, phrases, clauses, or sentences, such as and, because, but, however.
   2. any other word or expression of similar function, such as in any case.
4. Astronomy.
   1. the coincidence of two or more heavenly bodies at the same celestial longitude.
   2. the state of two or more such coinciding heavenly bodies.
5. Astrology. the coincidence of two or more heavenly bodies at the same celestial longitude, characterized by a unification of the planetary energies; an astrological aspect.
6. Logic.
   1. a compound proposition that is true if and only if all of its component propositions are true.
   2. the relation among the components of such a proposition, usually expressed by AND or & or ·.

conjunction

/ kənˈdʒʌŋkʃən /

noun

1. the act of joining together; combination; union
2. simultaneous occurrence of events; coincidence
3. any word or group of words, other than a relative pronoun, that connects words, phrases, or clauses; for example and and while conj See also coordinating conjunction subordinating conjunction
4. astronomy
   1. the position of any two bodies that appear to meet, such as two celestial bodies on the celestial sphere
   2. Also calledsolar conjunction the position of a planet or the moon when it is in line with the sun as seen from the earth. The inner planets are in inferior conjunction when the planet is between the earth and the sun and in superior conjunction when the sun lies between the earth and the planet Compare opposition
5. astrology an exact aspect of 0° between two planets, etc, an orb of 8° being allowed See opposition square
6. logic
   1. the operator that forms a compound sentence from two given sentences, and corresponds to the English and
   2. a sentence so formed. Usually written p&q, p∧q, or p.q., where p,q are the component sentences, it is true only when both these are true
   3. the relation between such sentences

conjunction

/ kən-jŭngk′shən /

1. The position of two celestial bodies when they have the same celestial longitude, especially a configuration in which a planet or the Moon lies on a straight line from Earth to or through the Sun. Planets in this position are not visible to the naked eye because they are in line with the Sun and obscured by its glare; the Moon in this position is new.
2. ◆ The inner planets Mercury and Venus have two conjunction points with Earth. Either planet is at inferior conjunction when it lies directly between the Earth and the Sun, and is at superior conjunction when it lies directly opposite Earth on the far side of the Sun. The outer planets have only one conjunction point with Earth, when they lie opposite Earth on the far side of the Sun.
3. Compare oppositionSee more at elongation

conjunction

1. A word that joins words or groups of words. There are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating, correlative, and subordinating. Coordinating conjunctions include and , but , or , not , yet , for , and so . Correlative conjunctions include the words in the pairs either/or, both/and , and neither/nor . Subordinating conjunctions begin subordinate clauses ( see subordination ) and join them to the rest of the sentence: “She didn't learn the real reason until she left the valley.”

Derived Forms

• conˈjunctionally, adverb
• conˈjunctional, adjective

Other Words From

• con·junc·tion·al adjective
• con·junc·tion·al·ly adverb
• non·con·junc·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of conjunction¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English conjunccio(u)n, from Anglo-French, from Latin conjunctiōn-, stem of conjunctiō “a joining together”; equivalent to conjunct + -ion

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in conjunction with,
   1. together with; in association or cooperation with:

      The school offers an apprenticeship program in conjunction with our industry partners.

      The police, in conjunction with the army, finally established order.

   2. with reference to; related to:

      They hosted a debate in conjunction with the novel The Great Gatsby.

Example Sentences

Squirrel Agent is currently being tested in sites around the UK in conjunction with five wildlife charities.

From BBC

"Nature has relied on cell density in conjunction with genetic circuits to generate the remarkable diversity of multicellular structures, tissues, and organs," said Morsut.

From Science Daily

He proposed basing it on this quotidian word song cycle in conjunction with the existing instrumental pieces, and weaving the result into an interactive film piece.

From Los Angeles Times

In conjunction with the watchdog group Public Citizen, White filed a formal complaint against Coinbase with the Federal Election Commission on Aug. 1.

From Los Angeles Times

Other satellite operators are informed if there's likely to be a particularly close conjunction, in case they need to take evasive action.

From BBC

Related Words

• partnership

More About Conjunction

What is a conjunction?

A conjunction is a member of a group of words that we use to connect words, clauses, phrases, or sentences.

Conjunctions act as connectors in sentences. They link ideas together to form more complex sentences. In English, there are three main categories of conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions connect similar things together, such as nouns with nouns, verbs with verbs, and adjectives with adjectives. And, but, and or are the three most commonly used coordinating conjunctions, as in I bought shoes and socks.

Subordinating conjunctions connect dependent (or subordinate) clauses to independent clauses. Dependent clauses are not complete sentences, so cannot be used alone. They need a conjunction to attach them to an independent clause. Because, after, when, and if are examples of subordinating conjunctions, as in If you are going outside, take your jacket with you.

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together to make a comparison or a contrast, such as either … or, neither … nor, and not only … but also. Sometimes, only the first of the pair is used and the second is understood, as in These shirts are both ugly, so I am going to wear neither (this one nor that one).

Why is conjunction important?

The first records of the word conjunction come from around 1350. It ultimately comes from the Latin verb conjungere, meaning to join together.

Conjunctions are used in many languages, including ancient languages like Latin.

English learners are often taught not to begin sentences with coordinating conjunctions such as and or but because it can lead to incomplete sentences, especially with young students. However, this is merely a writing preference and you can create grammatical sentences that start with a coordinating conjunction, as in But to the surprise of my teacher, I passed the test easily.

Did you know … ?

A common mnemonic device used to remember the seven coordinating conjunctions is FANBOYS, which stands for for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

What are real-life examples of conjunctions?

This chart lists some of the most commonly used subordinating conjunctions:

<img loading="lazy" src="https://www.coonwriting.com/uploads/3/0/9/7/30973541/subconj.png?566" alt="" width="563" height="231" />

Coonwriting.com

Conjunctions are taught fairly early on in a student’s study of English.

Learning about conjunctions with Daughter (7), with a worksheet sent from school.
Me: Here's another example: would you like ice cream *or* some chocolate?
Daughter: Both!

— Dr Nicholas Jackson (@njj4) January 20, 2021

So many people sharing good news this morning. And the sun's shining. And I just started two sentences with conjunctions, and I don't care.

— Gareth L Powell (@garethlpowell) March 11, 2016

What other words are related to conjunction?

• coordinating conjunction
• subordinating conjunction
• correlative conjunction
• clause
• comma
• preposition

Quiz yourself!

True or False?

Conjunctions act as connections between sentences.