COMMUNICATION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does communication mean? 

• COMMUNICATION (noun)
  The noun COMMUNICATION has 3 senses:

1. the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information

2. something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups

3. a connection allowing access between persons or places

  Familiarity information: COMMUNICATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMMUNICATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

communicating; communication

Context example:

they could not act without official communication from Moscow

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

act; deed; human action; human activity (something that people do or cause to happen)

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

traffic (the amount of activity over a communication system during a given period of time)

contact; touch (a communicative interaction)

expostulation; objection; remonstrance; remonstration (the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest)

dissuasion (persuading not to do or believe something; talking someone out of a belief or an intended course of action)

persuasion; suasion (the act of persuading (or attempting to persuade); communication intended to induce belief or action)

exam; examination; test (a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge)

expression; verbal expression; verbalism (the communication (in speech or writing) of your beliefs or opinions)

exhortation (a communication intended to urge or persuade the recipients to take some action)

discourse; discussion; treatment (an extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic)

dramatic art; dramatics; dramaturgy; theater; theatre (the art of writing and producing plays)

mail; mail service; post; postal service (the system whereby messages are transmitted via the post office)

channel; communication channel; line ((often plural) a means of communication or access)

medium (an intervening substance through which signals can travel as a means for communication)

intercommunication (mutual communication; communication with each other)

transmission (communication by means of transmitted signals)

Derivation:

communicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

communicate (transmit information)

communicate (be in verbal contact; interchange information or ideas)

communicational (used in communication)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

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

abstract entity; abstraction (a general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples)

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

message (a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled)

document (a written account of ownership or obligation)

voice (something suggestive of speech in being a medium of expression)

anomalous communication; psychic communication; psychical communication (communication by paranormal means)

phonation; vocalisation; vocalism; vocalization; voice; vox (the sound made by the vibration of vocal folds modified by the resonance of the vocal tract)

auditory communication (communication that relies on hearing)

paralanguage; paralinguistic communication (the use of manner of speaking to communicate particular meanings)

expressive style; style (a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period)

display (exhibiting openly in public view)

visual communication (communication that relies on vision)

sign (a public display of a message)

sign; signal; signaling (any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message)

didacticism (communication that is suitable for or intended to be instructive)

content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)

black and white; written communication; written language (communication by means of written symbols (either printed or handwritten))

language; linguistic communication (a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols)

contagion; infection (the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people)

publication (the communication of something to the public; making information generally known)

indicant; indication (something that serves to indicate or suggest)

Derivation:

communicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

communicate (transmit information)

communicate (receive Communion, in the Catholic church)

communicate (administer Communion; in church)

communicate (be in verbal contact; interchange information or ideas)

communicate (transfer to another)

communicational (used in communication)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A connection allowing access between persons or places

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Context example:

a secret passageway provided communication between the two rooms

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

connectedness; connection; connexion (a relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it))

Derivation:

communicate (transmit information)

communicate (join or connect)

 Context examples 

Changing conditions on the sun and in space can affect various technologies on Earth, blocking radio communications, damaging power grids and diminishing navigation system accuracy.

(Detecting solar flares in real time, National Science Foundation)

Moreover, inhibiting expression of a gene called LSD1, which counteracts SETD1A, corrected all of the animals’ behavioral and neuronal communication abnormalities.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)

Communication at these synapses happens when one neuron fires off packets of GABA molecules that are then quickly detected by proteins called GABA type A (GABAA) receptors on neighboring neurons.

(‘Sticky’ gene may help Valium calm nerves, National Institutes of Health)

This is however not a time of day with abundant communications but around 6 or 7 o'clock these levels will rise significantly.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

Emotional communication between parents and their children is crucial during early life, yet little is known about its neural underpinnings.

(Mothers’ and babies’ brains ‘more in tune’ when mother is happy, University of Cambridge)

When the antenna points just a few fractions of a degree away from Earth, communications will be severed permanently.

(Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn, NASA)

The moon will be in ideal communication with Pluto, indicating an event that would have the power to transform you with a special memory or a beautiful new perspective.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Such devices are now, in effect, compact but powerful pocket-sized computers with high-performance cameras, various sensors, and multiple communications capabilities (Bluetooth, WiFi, and mobile networks).

(Scientists design platform to conduct chemical analysis using a smartphone, University of Granada)

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9:54 a.m. PST, carrying 10 communications satellites to be placed in orbit before returning to Earth.

(SpaceX Completes Successful Rocket Launch, VOA News)

These unique responses are controlled by incoming signals sent from neighboring cells at chemical communication points called synapses.

(Eye cells may use math to detect motion, NIH)