association
n. C / Un. a connection or link between two or more things. You use this when you notice that when one thing changes, another thing usually changes too.
n. a relationship or connection between two or more variables or events. In a statistical context, it indicates that the values of one variable tend to co-occur with specific values of another, without necessarily implying a causal link.
There is a strong association between smoking and lung disease.
Researchers found a significant association between regular exercise and improved mental health outcomes in older adults.
While the data reveals a clear association between increased screen time and lower sleep quality, further longitudinal studies are required to determine if one directly causes the other.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *sokʷéh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ṓy Proto-Indo-European *sokʷh₂ṓy Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Indo-European *sokʷyós Proto-Italic *sokjos Latin sokios Latin socius Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin sociō Latin associō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin associātiōbor. English association From Latin associātiō, from associō (perhaps via French association). Morphologically associate + -ion. The Philippine sense is a calque of Spanish gremio.
Often paired with the preposition 'between' to link two items, or 'with' to link one item to a group.
the association of the two variablesthe association between the two variablesWhen describing a relationship between two distinct things, 'between' is the standard preposition; 'of' is typically used for membership in an organization.