alignment
Other forms: alignments
The noun alignment refers to the correct positioning of something. If you check the alignment of your feet when running, you're checking to make sure they're not pointing to either side, but going straight ahead.
Alignment has to do with adjusting something so it's in the right place. If you take your car in for a wheel alignment, the mechanic will make sure the wheels are on straight. Alignment can also mean following directions or being in agreement. Your school has to act in alignment with state education rules. If you and your brother both believe that poodles should be banned in your town, then you are in alignment on the issue of poodles.
Definitions of alignment
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the spatial property possessed by an arrangement or position of things in a straight line or in parallel lines
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types:
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true
proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment
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type of:
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arrangement, placement
the spatial property of the way in which something is placed
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true
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the act of adjusting or aligning the parts of a device in relation to each other
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types:
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camber
the alignment of the wheels of a motor vehicle closer together at the bottom than at the top
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toe-in
the alignment of the front wheels of a motor vehicle closer together at the front than at the back
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type of:
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adjustment, readjustment, registration
the act of adjusting something to match a standard
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camber
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(astronomy) apparent meeting or passing of two or more celestial bodies in the same degree of the zodiac
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synonyms:
conjunction
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types:
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inferior conjunction
(astronomy) the alignment of the Earth and a planet on the same side of the sun
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superior conjunction
(astronomy) the alignment of the Earth and a planet on the opposite side of the sun
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inferior conjunction
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an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty
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Antonyms:
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nonalignment, nonalinement
people (or countries) who are not aligned with other people (or countries) in a pact or treaty
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types:
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combination
an alliance of people or corporations or countries for a special purpose (formerly to achieve some antisocial end but now for general political or economic purposes)
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allies
an alliance of nations joining together to fight a common enemy
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axis, bloc
a group of countries in special alliance
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Allies
in World War I the alliance of Great Britain and France and Russia and all the other nations that became allied with them in opposing the Central Powers
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Central Powers
in World War I the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary and other nations allied with them in opposing the Allies
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Allies
the alliance of nations that fought the Axis in World War II and which (with subsequent additions) signed the charter of the United Nations in 1945
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Axis
in World War II the alliance of Germany and Italy in 1936 which later included Japan and other nations
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entente, entente cordiale
an informal alliance between countries
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popular front
a leftist coalition organized against a common opponent
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global organization, international organisation, international organization, world organisation, world organization
an international alliance involving many different countries
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Northern Alliance, United Front
a multiethnic alliance in Afghanistan who practice a moderate form of Islam and are united in their opposition to the Taliban
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combination in restraint of trade
(law) any monopoly or contract or combination or conspiracy intended to restrain commerce (which are illegal according to antitrust laws of the United States)
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Arab League
an international organization of independent Arab states formed in 1945 to promote cultural and economic and military and political and social cooperation
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Common Market, EC, EEC, EU, Europe, European Community, European Economic Community, European Union
an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members
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NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security
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OPCW, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
international organization for chemical disarmament; administers the Chemical Weapons Convention
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OAS, Organization of American States
an association including most countries in the western hemisphere; created in 1948 to promote military and economic and social and cultural cooperation
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OPEC, Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries
an organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the production and sale of petroleum
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League of Nations
an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations; although suggested by Woodrow Wilson, the United States never joined and it remained powerless; it was dissolved in 1946 after the United Nations was formed
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community
a group of nations having common interests
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CIS, Commonwealth of Independent States
an alliance made up of states that had been Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991
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UN, United Nations
an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
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scheduled territories, sterling area, sterling bloc
the group of countries whose currencies are tied to the British pound sterling
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commonwealth
a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one another
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WTO, World Trade Organization
an international organization based in Geneva that monitors and enforces rules governing global trade
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type of:
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organisation, organization
a group of people who work together
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nonalignment, nonalinement
Pronunciation
US
/əˈlaɪnmənt/
UK
/əˈlaɪnmɪnt/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘alignment'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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Word Family
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