ally

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(ə-lī', ăl'ī) pronunciation

v., -lied, -ly·ing, -lies.

v.tr.
  1. To place in a friendly association, as by treaty: Italy allied itself with Germany during World War II.
  2. To unite or connect in a personal relationship, as in friendship or marriage.
v.intr.
To enter into an alliance: Several tribes allied to fend off the invaders.

n., pl., -lies.
  1. One that is allied with another, especially by treaty: entered the war as an ally of France.
  2. One in helpful association with another: legislators who are allies on most issues. See synonyms at partner.
  3. Allies
    1. The nations allied against the Central Powers of Europe during World War I. They were Russia, France, Great Britain, and later many others, including the United States.
    2. The nations, primarily Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States, allied against the Axis during World War II.

[Middle English allien, from Old French alier, from Latin alligāre, to bind to. See alloy.]



1. This is now normally stressed on the first syllable, both as a noun and as a verb.

2. The verb has four typical constructions: (1) transitive, (2) intransitive, (3) reflexive
(Since Siegfried alone has the strength to win the Valkyrie for Gunther, they must ally themselves with him—A. Huth, 1985)
, (4) passive
(We hear she's currently allied with a very flakey anarchist guy—John Le Carré, 1983).


3. Allied is used as a general adjective meaning 'relating to or belonging to allies (whether or not identified)'
(The man...made his astonishing parachute jump into allied territory—Times, 1970
The Vice President also wants to know just what allied or U.S. initiatives Europeans would welcome to get the stalemated talks...going once again—Times, 1977).
When referring to a specific group of allies, typically in a historical context, a capital initial is usual
(In the air, Allied losses fell from an average of 5% per raid to 1.5%—Sunday Times, 2004).

Previous:allude, allusion, allowedly, allow
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verb

  1. To be formally associated, as by treaty: align, confederate, federate, league. See connect, politics.
  2. To unite or be united in a relationship: affiliate, associate, bind, combine, conjoin, connect, join, link, relate. See connect.

noun

  1. One nation associated with another in a common cause: coalitionist, confederate, leaguer. See connect, politics.
  2. One who is united in a relationship with another: affiliate, associate, cohort, colleague, confederate, copartner, fellow, partner. See connect.


n

Definition: something united with another, especially by treaty
Antonyms: antagonist, enemy


[ǝܒlī; ܒælī]

ǝˈlī; ˈælī n. pl. -ies 1. a state formally cooperating with another for a military or other purpose, typically by treaty: debate continued on greater burden sharing among NATO allies.

2. a person or organization that cooperates with or helps another in a particular activity: he was forced to dismiss his closest political ally.

3. the Allies a group of nations taking military action together, in particular the countries that fought with the United States in World War I and World War II.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

The victorious allied nations of World War I and World War II. In World War I, the Allies included Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and the United States. In World War II, the Allies included Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: One who joins a common cause. Also: to join.

pronunciation Matt found an ally in Peter, who helped him clean litter off the beach.

Tutor's tip: An "alloy" is a mixture of two or more metals. An "ally" is a close supporter, friend, and helper.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

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categories related to 'ally'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to ally, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Ally.
Allies Day, May 1917, National Gallery of Art
Field Marshal Montgomery decorates Soviet Generals at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, 12 July 1945.

In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them. When the term is used in the context of war or armed struggle, such associations may also be called allied powers, especially when discussing World War I or World War II.

A formal military alliance is not required for being perceived as an ally—co-belligerence, fighting alongside someone, is enough. According to this usage, allies become so not when concluding an alliance treaty but when struck by war.

When spelled with a capital "A", the word "Allies" usually denotes the countries who fought together against the Central Powers in World War I (the Allies of World War I), or those who fought against the Axis Powers in World War II (the Allies of World War II).

More recently, the term "Allied forces" has also been used to describe the Coalition of the Gulf War, as opposed to forces the Multi-National Force in Iraq which are commonly referred to as "Coalition forces" or, as by the George W. Bush administration, "The coalition of the willing".

The Allies in World War I (also known as the Entente Powers) were initially the British Empire, France, Russia, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and Japan, joined later by Italy, Portugal, Romania, the United States, Greece, and Brazil. Some, such as Russia, withdrew from the war before the Armistice due to revolution or defeat by the Central Powers.

See also

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - forbundsfælle, allieret
v. tr. - alliere, forbinde
v. intr. - danne alliance, indgå i alliance

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    gå i alliance med, gå i forbund med
  • ally with    gå i alliance med, gå i forbund med

2.
n. - marmorkugle

Nederlands (Dutch)
bondgenoot, alikas (soort knikker), zich aansluiten bij, (zich) verenigen

Français (French)
1.
n. - (gén, Mil) allié, ami, proche associé
v. tr. - s'allier, allier, unir
v. intr. - s'allier

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    s'allier à
  • ally with    s'allier avec

2.
n. - billes (en albâtre ou en verre)

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Bündnispartner, Verbündeter
v. - sich verbünden, sich vereinigen

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    sich verbünden mit
  • ally with    sich verbinden mit

2.
n. - (Glas)Murmel

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - συμμαχώ, συνδέω/-ομαι, ενώνω/-ομαι
n. - σύμμαχος, (μτφ.) συμπαραστάτης, στενός συνεργάτης, (καθομ.) γκαζά, μπίλια

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    συμμαχώ με
  • ally with    συμμαχώ με

Italiano (Italian)
allearsi, alleato

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    allearsi a
  • ally with    unirsi a

Português (Portuguese)
v. - aliar-se, associar-se, unir-se, ligar-se
n. - aliado (m), afim (m)

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    aliar-se a
  • ally with    aliar-se com

Русский (Russian)
быть союзником, союзник

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    вступить в брак, вступить в союз
  • ally with    вступить в союз

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - aliarse, emparentarse, hacer alianza con, aliado
v. tr. - hacer alianza con, aliar, emparentar
v. intr. - aliarse, emparentarse

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    aliarse a
  • ally with    unirse a, juntarse con

2.
n. - hacer alianza con, aliado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - sammanbinda, förena
n. - bundsförvant, alllierad

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
使结盟, 与...相关联, 使联姻, 结盟, 联合, 同盟国, 一次大战中的协约国, 同盟者, 二次大战中的同盟国

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    与...联姻, 与...同盟
  • ally with    结盟, 联姻

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 使結盟, 與...相關聯, 使聯姻
v. intr. - 結盟, 聯合
n. - 同盟國, 一次大戰中的協約國, 同盟者, 二次大戰中的同盟國

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    與...聯姻, 與...同盟
  • ally with    結盟, 聯姻

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 동맹국
v. tr. - 동맹 시키다
v. intr. - 동맹하다

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    동맹 시키다
  • ally with    ~과 동맹하다

2.
n. - 공깃돌

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 同盟する, 提携する, 同盟させる
n. - 同盟国, 同盟者, 提携者, 協力者

idioms:

  • ally oneself to    ~と同盟する
  • ally with    同盟している, 縁組みしている

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يجمع من طريق الزواج او التحالف (الاسم) تحالف, مصاهره‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בן-ברית, תומך, מסייע‬
v. tr. - ‮איחד ע"י ברית, נישואים וכו', קשר קשרים עם‬
v. intr. - ‮בא בברית עם, התקשר, התאחד עם‬
n. - ‮כדור שיש או זכוכית‬


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