Association vs. Society — What's the Difference?

An organized group of professional individuals.

The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.

A group of people organized for a joint purpose.

The situation of being in the company of other people.

The act of associating or being connected with

The community of people living in a particular region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations.

An organized body of people who have an interest, activity, or purpose in common; a society.

The structured system of human organization for large-scale community living that normally furnishes protection, continuity, security, and a national identity for its members.

A mental connection or relation between thoughts, feelings, ideas, or sensations

An organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity.

The act of expressing a link or connection between two things

A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent of members.

A correlation or causal connection

The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community

(Chemistry) Any of various processes of combination, such as hydration, solvation, or complex-ion formation, depending on relatively weak chemical bonding.

An organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity

(Ecology) A large number of organisms in a specific geographic area constituting a community with one or two dominant species.

The situation of being in the company of other people

(uncountable) The act of associating.

The totality of people regarded as forming a community of interdependent individuals

(countable) The state of being associated; a connection to or an affiliation with something.

A group of people broadly distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture

(statistics) Any relationship between two measured quantities that renders them statistically dependent (but not necessarily causal or a correlation).

An organization or association of persons engaged in a common profession, activity, or interest

A group of persons associated for a common purpose; an organization; society.

The wealthy, socially dominant members of a community. Also called high society.

(object-oriented programming) Relationship between classes of objects that allows one object instance to cause another to perform an action on its behalf.

Companionship; company

A benevolent overseas Chinese organization of popular origin for overseas Chinese individuals with the same surname or trade or business.

(Biology) A colony or community of organisms, usually of the same species

The act of associating, or state of being associated; union; connection, whether of persons of things.

(countable) A long-standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as language, dress, norms of behavior and artistic forms.

Mental connection, or that which is mentally linked or associated with a thing.

(countable) A group of people who meet from time to time to engage in a common interest; an association or organization.

Union of persons in a company or society for some particular purpose; as, the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a benevolent association. Specifically, as among the Congregationalists, a society, consisting of a number of ministers, generally the pastors of neighboring churches, united for promoting the interests of religion and the harmony of the churches.

(countable) The sum total of all voluntary interrelations between individuals.

A formal organization of people or groups of people;

(uncountable) The people of one’s country or community taken as a whole.

The act of consorting with or joining with others;

(uncountable) High society.

The state of being connected together as in memory or imagination;

A number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act toward a common goal.

A social or business relationship;

The relationship of men to one another when associated in any way; companionship; fellowship; company.

The process of bringing ideas or events together in memory or imagination;

Connection; participation; partnership.

A relation resulting from interaction or dependence;

A number of persons associated for any temporary or permanent object; an association for mutual or joint usefulness, pleasure, or profit; a social union; a partnership; as, a missionary society.

(chemistry) any process of combination (especially in solution) that depends on relatively weak chemical bonding

The persons, collectively considered, who live in any region or at any period; any community of individuals who are united together by a common bond of nearness or intercourse; those who recognize each other as associates, friends, and acquaintances.

(ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species

Specifically, the more cultivated portion of any community in its social relations and influences; those who mutually give receive formal entertainments.

A connection or cooperative link between people or organizations.

An extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization

The process of forming mental connections or bonds between sensations, ideas, or memories.

A formal association of people with similar interests;

A nonprofit organization that works for its members' interests.

The state of being with someone;

The fashionable elite

Membership to a society often depends on its specific criteria, which can be broad or selective.

A society's purpose is to cater to the social, cultural, or professional needs of a community.

An association is an organization of people with a common purpose and a formal structure.

Many associations are nonprofit, but this is not a requirement for all associations.

Becoming a member can vary, from a formal application process to an open invitation depending on the society's rules.

An association can be similar to a club but is often more formalized with a specific purpose and structured activities.

Some associations may engage in advocacy or political activities related to their mission.

Yes, societies can form within associations as a subgroup with a specific focus.

Many societies aim to contribute to the social and cultural welfare of their members and the broader public.

Yes, societies can exist informally without legal recognition, but formal societies typically have some form of legal structure.

Associations vary in size and can be quite large, depending on their reach and membership.

A society is a formal group with shared traditions and values, while a community is a broader term that can refer to any group sharing common geography or interests.

Yes, associations typically have a leadership structure that may include a president, board of directors, or other officers.

While they may seem similar, they are not always interchangeable due to differences in scope, structure, and purpose.

A society can influence local government, especially if it represents a significant portion of the community or has a civic engagement focus.