WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
ge•sell•schaft
(Ger. gə zel′shäft′),USA pronunciation n., pl. -schaf•ten (Ger. -shäf′tən).USA pronunciation (often cap.)
- Sociologyan association of individuals for common goals, as for entertainment, intellectual, or cultural purposes or for business reasons.
- Sociologya society or group characterized chiefly by formal organization, impersonal relations, the absence of generally held or binding norms, and a detachment from traditional and sentimental concerns, and often tending to be rationalistic and secular in outlook. Cf. Gemeinschaft.
- German, equivalent. to Geselle companion + -schaft -ship
- 1935–40
'gesellschaft' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):