a formal agreement establishing an association or alliance between nations or other groups to achieve a particular aim
an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty
a connection based on kinship or marriage or common interest; "the shifting alliances within a large family"; "their friendship constitutes a powerful bond between them"
lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture; "this benighted country"; "benighted ages of barbarism and superstition"; "the dark ages"; "a dark age in the history of education"
overtaken by night or darkness; "benighted (or nighted) travelers hurrying toward home"
something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions; "both sides were deeply in earnest, even passionate"; "an entirely sincere and cruel tyrant"; "a film with a solemn social message"
a mechanical system of rods or springs or pivots that transmits power or motion
(genetics) traits that tend to be inherited together as a consequence of an association between their genes; all of the genes of a given chromosome are linked (where one goes they all go)
a relation between people; (`relationship' is often used where `relation' would serve, as in `the relationship between inflation and unemployment', but the preferred usage of `relationship' is for human relations or states of relatedness); "the relationship between mothers and their children"
a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection); "he didn't want his wife to know of the relationship"
a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties or countries