Library / English Dictionary

ALLY

Irregular inflected form: allied   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A friendly nation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("ally" is a kind of...):

body politic; commonwealth; country; land; nation; res publica; state (a politically organized body of people under a single government)

Holonyms ("ally" is a member of...):

alignment; alinement; alliance; coalition (an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty)

Derivation:

ally (become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An associate who provides cooperation or assistance

Example:

he's a good ally in fight

Synonyms:

ally; friend

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("ally" is a kind of...):

associate (a person who joins with others in some activity or endeavor)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ally"):

blood brother (a male sworn (usually by a ceremony involving the mingling of blood) to treat another as his brother)

Derivation:

ally (become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become an ally or associate, as by a treaty or marriage

Example:

He allied himself with the Communists

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "ally" is one way to...):

affiliate; associate; assort; consort (keep company with; hang out with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "ally"):

misally (make a bad alliance; ally inappropriately)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

alliance (the act of forming an alliance or confederation)

ally (a friendly nation)

ally (an associate who provides cooperation or assistance)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Based on the diets and habits of mammals, scientists found that elephants are the best allies for the Thai Annonaceae tree to spread its seeds.

(Thai Elephants Help Spread Jungle Fruit's Seeds, Sadie Witkowski/VOA)

The actions of prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical and allied health professions.

(Healthcare Activity, NCI Thesaurus)

There was the same candour, the same vivacity, but it was allied to an expression more full of sensibility and intellect.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

If we exert ourselves, I think we shall not be long in want of allies.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

“We have been allies too long to quarrel now at the very hour of victory,” he said.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Grasslands make up more than 40% of the world's ice-free land and can hold up to 30% of the world's carbon, making them critical allies in the fight against climate change.

(Environmental change is triggering an identity switch in grasslands, National Science Foundation)

Sharks, it turns out, are one of the seagrasses' best allies in the fight to survive.

(Sharks, the seagrass protectors, National Science Foundation)

I knew then that to struggle at the moment against the Count was useless. With such allies as these at his command, I could do nothing.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Without my knowing why, these tears allied themselves with the quietly sad smile which was so fixed in my remembrance, and shook me more with hope than fear or sorrow.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The ACOSOG (Durham, NC) includes general and specialty surgeons, representatives of related oncologic disciplines and allied health professionals in academic medical centers and community practices throughout the US and foreign countries.

(American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, NCI Thesaurus)