alliance

Definitions of Alliance

1. (noun) A social relationship established by marriage.
2. (noun) A social relationship created for common cause or interest.

Examples of Alliance

• Definition 1:
  • A mother-in-law is an alliance established by marriage.
• Definition 2:
  • Allies of World War II (1939–1945) which were the countries opposed to the Axis powers. Germany, Italy, and Japan were the Axis Alliance during World War II who lost the war to an alliance called the Allied Powers led by Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.
  • labor union

Alliance Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: al·li·ance

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /əˈlaɪəns/
• British English – /əˈlʌɪəns/

Usage Notes

• Plural: alliances
• Alliance theory to create familial bonds is most closely associated with Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009). Lévi-Strauss contended that kinship systems are less about descent (vertical relationships) and more about alliances (horizontal relationships). Alliances create opportunities for exchange and reciprocity while providing identity and integration to an individual or group.
• Lévi-Strauss’ (1908–2009) The Elementary Structures of Kinship (1949) along with Lewis Henry Morgan‘s (1818–1881) Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity in the Human Family (1871) helped establish the study of kinship as a distinct field of anthropology and sociology. Morgan and Lévi-Strauss among other kinship writers were critiqued by David M. Schneider (1918–1995) in American Kinship: A Cultural Account and A Critique of the Study of Kinship (1984). Schneider’s work reinvigorated the study of kinship. Alliance theory sought to explain the function of exogamy and incest taboos among other aspects of kinship.
• The study of kinship was once divided into alliance theory and descent theory, but the debate has shifted to a less universal theory of kinship.
• An individual or group (verb) align with other individuals or groups.

Additional Information

• Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “alliance” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• bigamy
• divorce
• endogamy
• exogamy
• family
• group
• individual
• marriage
• monogamy
• open marriage

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Cite the Definition of Alliance

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “alliance.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 25, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/alliance/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

alliance. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/alliance/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “alliance.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/alliance/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“alliance.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/alliance/>.