On a city council agenda, community usually means the residents, and neighborhood or town can replace it cleanly. When it refers to doctors, scientists or another profession, circle or network fits better; when it refers to countries that act together, the swap is bloc or alliance. When the word names the bond itself, solidarity or camaraderie takes over, and a place word there would turn a feeling into a map.
Best synonyms for community
People living in one place
- neighborhood
- town
- village
- locality
- district
- settlement
- township
People who share a trait, interest, or work
- group
- circle
- network
- society
- fraternity
Nations acting together
- bloc
- alliance
- union
- coalition
A sense of belonging
- camaraderie
- solidarity
- fellowship
- togetherness
Which synonym should you use?
| If you mean… | Best alternatives |
|---|---|
| the people on your street | neighborhood |
| a small incorporated place | town, village, township |
| an area defined by a boundary | district, locality |
| people who share a profession or hobby | circle, network, society, group |
| countries that vote or trade together | bloc, alliance, union |
| the warmth of belonging to a team | camaraderie, fellowship, togetherness |
| standing together against a threat | solidarity |
Community synonyms explained
1. Neighborhood
Always a part of a larger place: the few streets and homes around you, with the suggestion that people know one another by sight. It is narrower than town.
Best used when: Describing the blocks where someone lives.
Our neighborhood holds a block party every August.
2. District
A zone marked by a boundary or a purpose, such as a school district or an arts district. It says more about the map than about the people, which separates it from neighborhood.
Best used when: The area matters more than the residents.
The old mill district is now full of apartments.
3. Settlement
A cluster of homes that people have established, often small, new, or remote. It is more formal and more factual than town, and it rarely suggests warmth.
Best used when: Writing about a small, isolated, or newly founded place.
The settlement had no more than forty families.
4. Circle
A set of people linked by an interest or by knowing each other, usually informal and fairly close. Compared with network, it stresses who belongs rather than who can help whom. It is usually plural when attached to a field.
Best used when: Naming the people around an artist, a writer, or a friend.
She moves in literary circles in Chicago.
5. Network
Stresses connections between individuals who trade help, information, or contacts, not a shared identity. It fits professional life better than circle, which suggests closeness.
Best used when: Describing the people you rely on for leads or advice.
The alumni network helps new graduates find work.
6. Society
In this meaning it is an organized group built around a shared interest, and it often appears in names. It sounds more formal than group.
Best used when: Referring to a club or learned body.
He joined the local historical society.
7. Fraternity
In American use it mostly means a men's college organization. Applied to lawyers, doctors, or another profession as a stand-in for community, it sounds dated or faintly humorous to US readers.
Best used when: Giving a profession a tongue-in-cheek clubby feel.
News of the merger spread quickly through the legal fraternity.
8. Bloc
Countries or parties that act together politically or economically. It is blunt and journalistic, with none of the warmth of community. An alliance implies a formal agreement; a bloc can be looser.
Best used when: Reporting on voting or trade partners.
The trading bloc lowered tariffs among its members.
9. Alliance
Treaty language: the members have formally agreed to support one another, often militarily. That commitment is firmer than anything bloc implies.
Best used when: Countries are bound by a treaty.
Both countries stayed in the alliance after the war.
10. Solidarity
Unity among people who share a cause or face the same threat. It takes with before the people supported. It is firmer and more political than camaraderie.
Best used when: People publicly back others facing hardship.
Correct: They stood in solidarity with the strikers.
Incorrect: They expressed solidarity to the strikers.
Solidarity takes with, not to, before the people you support. The corrected sentence is They expressed solidarity with the strikers.
11. Camaraderie
The easy, friendly trust among people who spend time together, as on a crew or a team. It is uncountable and takes no article in general statements. It is lighter than solidarity and has no political edge.
Best used when: Describing the mood among coworkers or teammates.
The camaraderie on the night shift kept everyone going.
12. Fellowship
Warm companionship within a group, often tied to faith or a shared purpose. It sounds more formal and more religious than camaraderie.
Best used when: Writing about a congregation or a close-knit circle of believers.
The church hall was full of laughter and fellowship.
FAQ
Is ecosystem a synonym for community in biology?
Not quite. In ecology, a community is only the living organisms that share a habitat and affect each other. An ecosystem also includes the soil, water, and climate they live in.