Associated

How to spell associated

10 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce associated

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does associated mean?

1. verbConnected or linked, in the mind or in fact, with a particular thing, person, or idea.
2. adjectiveConnected with or related to something else, often as a secondary or accompanying part.

Associated in a sentence

• verb

  Many shoppers associated that brand with quality and reliability.

• adjective

  The surgery carries some associated risks that the patient must understand.

• verb

  The report associated the rise in costs with the recent fuel shortage.

• adjective

  The budget covers the equipment and all associated costs.

Where does associated come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb associare, meaning 'to join with' or 'to unite as a companion', which was built from the prefix ad- ('to' or 'toward') and the noun socius, meaning 'companion', 'ally', or 'partner'. That same socius root gives English a whole family of related words, including 'society', 'social', and 'sociable', all carrying the underlying idea of people joined together. English took 'associate' in through Old French and Latin during the late 1300s, first as a verb for joining or allying, with the past form 'associated' developing naturally alongside it. The spelling trap lies in the soft 'c' followed by 'i', the sound that tempts writers toward an 's', and in remembering the single 's' after the double-s of 'asso-'. Holding on to the parent word 'society' is a useful reminder that the c, not an s, belongs in the middle.

How the word is built

• ad- (to, toward)
• soci (companion, ally)
• -ate (verb-forming)
• -ed (past tense/participle)