correlation
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a connection between two things where one seems to affect the other, or they happen at the same time.
a reciprocal or complementary relationship between two or more comparable objects or phenomena.
Simple“Researchers found a strong correlation between a healthy diet and a long life.”
In context“The study suggests a significant correlation between early childhood literacy programmes and long-term academic success in secondary education.”
UsageCommonly used with the preposition 'between'.
PitfallThere is a correlation of high prices and low quality. There is a correlation between high prices and low quality.Use the preposition 'between' to link the two things being compared.
SynonymsAntonymsdifferencedisconnection - 02 C1 Advanced
a number in math that shows how closely two sets of data are linked.
a measure of the linear relationship between two random variables, indicating the strength and direction of their association.
Simple“The correlation coefficient was 0.8, showing the two variables were closely linked.”
In context“A high positive correlation indicates that as one variable increases, the other tends to increase in a predictable linear fashion.”
UsageOften appears in the phrase 'correlation coefficient'.
Teacher's tipTeachers should remind students that 'correlation does not imply causation'—just because two things happen together doesn't mean one caused the other.
Synonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
a special type of matching in advanced geometry between points and planes.
an isomorphism from a projective space to the dual of a projective space.
Simple“The professor explained how a correlation maps points to planes in projective geometry.”
In context“In the study of projective planes, a correlation is a transformation that switches the roles of points and lines while preserving incidence.”
Usage correlation direct · correlation matrix · direct correlation
“THC rapidly leaves the bloodstream after smoking, and there is limited to no correlation between blood THC concentrations and impairment," Marcotte told the BBC.”
“Our efforts have produced a mix of no, small and mixed associations.” The available data suggests correlation rather than causation, she argued.”
From Middle French corrélation. Morphologically correlate + -ion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.