. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle French social , from Latin sociālis ( “ of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social ” ) , from socius ( “ a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally ” ) , from sequor ( “ follow ” ) . Cognate with English seg ( “ man, companion, fellow ” ) . More at seg .
Pronunciation
Adjective
social (comparative more social , superlative most social )
Being extroverted or outgoing .
James is a very social guy; he knows lots of people.
1851 , Herman Melville , Moby Dick , Chapter 1:Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to perceive a horror, and could still be social with it—would they let me—since it is but well to be on friendly terms with all the inmates of the place one lodges in.
Of or relating to society .
2012 January, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist , volume 100 , number 1, archived from the original on 26 January 2012 , page 70 :Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
Teresa feels uncomfortable in certain social situations.
Unemployment is a social problem.
( Internet ) Relating to social media or social networks .
social gaming
( rare ) Relating to a nation's allies .
the Social War
( biology ) Cooperating or growing in groups.
a social insect
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
extroverted or outgoing
Belarusian: тавары́скі ( tavarýski )
Bulgarian: общи́телен (bg) ( obštítelen )
Catalan: social (ca) , sociable (ca)
Czech: společenský (cs)
Danish: social (da) , udadvendt (da) , selskabelig
Esperanto: sociema
Faroese: sosialur , felagsligur
Finnish: ulospäinsuuntautunut (fi) , ekstrovertti (fi) , sosiaalinen (fi) , seurallinen
Galician: social (gl)
German: kontaktfreudig (de) , gesellig (de) , leutselig (de) , extrovertiert (de) , umgänglich (de)
Greek: κοινωνικός (el) ( koinonikós )
Hindi: मिलनसार (hi) ( milansār )
Hungarian: társasági (hu) , szociális (hu)
Icelandic: mannblendinn , félagslyndur
Irish: sóisialta
Italian: sociale (it) , socievole (it) , estroverso (it)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sosial (no) , utadvendt (no) , selskapelig
Nynorsk: sosial , omgjengeleg , selskapeleg
Old English: ġefērlīċ
Polish: towarzyski (pl)
Portuguese: social (pt)
Russian: общи́тельный (ru) ( obščítelʹnyj )
Scottish Gaelic: sòisealta , caidreamhach
Slovene: družben
Swedish: social (sv) , utåtriktad (sv) , sällskaplig (sv) , föreningsintresserad
Tagalog: ulnungin
Telugu: సాంఘిక ( sāṅghika )
Ukrainian: товари́ський ( tovarýsʹkyj )
Urdu: ملنسار ( milansār )
Welsh: cymdeithasol (cy)
relating to society
Albanian: social (sq)
Arabic: مُجْتَمَعِيّ ( mujtamaʕiyy ) , اِجْتِمَاعِيّ ( ijtimāʕiyy )
Armenian: հասարակական (hy) ( hasarakakan ) , սոցիալական (hy) ( socʻialakan )
Asturian: social
Azerbaijani: ictimai (az) , sosial
Bashkir: социаль ( sotsialʹ )
Belarusian: сацыя́льны ( sacyjálʹny ) , грама́дскі ( hramádski )
Bulgarian: социа́лен (bg) ( sociálen ) , обще́ствен (bg) ( obštéstven )
Catalan: social (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 社會的 / 社会的 (zh) ( shèhuì de )
Czech: společenský (cs) , sociální (cs)
Danish: social (da)
Dutch: sociaal (nl) , maatschappelijk (nl)
Esperanto: socia
Faroese: samfelagsligur , almanna
Finnish: yhteiskunnallinen (fi) , yhteiskunta- (fi) , sosiaalinen (fi) , sosiaali- (fi)
French: social (fr)
Galician: social (gl)
Georgian: სოციალური (ka) ( socialuri ) , საზოგადოებრივი ( sazogadoebrivi )
German: sozial (de) , Sozial- , gesellschaftlich (de)
Greek: κοινωνικός (el) m ( koinonikós )
Hebrew: חֶבְרָתִי (he) ( khevratí )
Hindi: सामाजिक (hi) ( sāmājik )
Hungarian: társadalmi (hu) , szociális (hu) , társas (hu)
Icelandic: félagslegur (is)
Irish: sóisialta
Italian: sociale (it) , mondano (it)
Japanese: 社会的な (ja) ( しゃかいてきな, shakaiteki na )
Kazakh: әлеуметтік ( äleumettık ) , қоғамдық ( qoğamdyq )
Korean: 사회적 인 ( sahoejeog-in )
Kyrgyz: коомдук (ky) ( koomduk )
Macedonian: социјален ( socijalen ) , општествен ( opštestven )
Marathi: सामाजिक (mr) ( sāmājik )
Mongolian: нийгмийн (mn) ( niigmiin )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sosial (no) , samfunnsmessig (no)
Nynorsk: sosial , samfunnsmessig
Occitan: social (oc) , sociau
Persian:
Iranian Persian: اِجْتِماعی ( ejtemâ'i ) , سوسْیال ( sosyâl )
Polish: społeczny (pl)
Portuguese: social (pt)
Romanian: social (ro)
Russian: социа́льный (ru) ( sociálʹnyj ) , обще́ственный (ru) ( obščéstvennyj )
Scottish Gaelic: sòisealta
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: со̏ција̄лан
Roman: sȍcijālan (sh)
Sicilian: suciali
Slovak: spoločenský , sociálny
Slovene: socialen (sl)
Spanish: social (es)
Swedish: social (sv)
Tagalog: panlipunan , ulnungin , ulnayin ( social studies ) , ulnayanin
Tajik: иҷтимоӣ (tg) ( ijtimoi ) , сотсиалӣ ( sotsiali )
Tatar: социаль ( sotsial’ )
Telugu: సాంఘికము ( sāṅghikamu )
Turkish: toplumsal (tr) , sosyal (tr)
Turkmen: sosial
Ukrainian: соціа́льний (uk) ( sociálʹnyj ) , суспі́льний (uk) ( suspílʹnyj ) , грома́дський ( hromádsʹkyj )
Urdu: مَجْلِسی ( majlisī ) , سوشَل ( sośal ) , اِجْتِماعی ( ijtimā'ī ) , سماجی ( samājī ) , معاشرتی ( mu'āśaratī )
Uyghur: ئىجتىمائىي ( ijtima'iy )
Uzbek: ijtimoiy (uz) , sotsial (uz)
Vietnamese: xã hội (vi)
Welsh: cymdeithasol (cy)
relating to a nation's allies
zoology: cooperating in groups
Noun
social (countable and uncountable , plural socials )
A festive gathering to foster introductions.
They organized a social at the dance club to get people to know each other.
( Canadian Prairies ) A dance held to raise money, often held for a couple to be married.
( British , colloquial , with definite article) Ellipsis of social security .
Fred hated going down to the social to sign on.
( US , colloquial ) Ellipsis of social security number .
What's your social ? [asked so that the asker can look up your account details]
( dated , Ireland ) A dinner dance event, usually held annually by a company or sporting club.
( Canada ) Ellipsis of social studies .
( Internet , informal , uncountable ) Ellipsis of social media .
2023 January 31, Casey Newton, quoting Kevin Systrom , “Instagram’s co-founders are back with Artifact, a kind of TikTok for text”, in The Verge :“I saw that shift, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s the future of social ,’” Systrom said.
( Internet , informal , countable ) A social media account; the username or handle thereof, or a link thereto.
Also check out some other experts in this topic — their socials are in the pinned comment below.
2019 August 29, “Cheeto Christ Stupid Czar”, Randy Rainbow (lyrics), Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) performed by Randy Rainbow:Close your mouth and delete all your socials tonight.
Derived terms
Translations
festive gathering to foster introductions
short for social security benefit
short for social security number
References
“social ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam , 1913 , →OCLC .
“social ”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , 1911 , →OCLC .
“social ”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged , Dictionary.com, LLC , 1995–present, retrieved 15 July 2017 , reproduced from Collins English Dictionary: Complete & Unabridged , digital edition, : HarperCollins , 2012.
Anagrams
Asturian
Etymology
From Latin sociālis .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /soˈθjal/ ,
Rhymes: -al
Hyphenation: so‧cial
Adjective
social (epicene , plural sociales )
social
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin sociālis . First attested in 1803.[ 1]
Pronunciation
Adjective
social m or f (masculine and feminine plural socials )
social
Derived terms
References
Further reading
Chinese
Etymology
From English social or Clipping of English social ize or English socia ble .
Pronunciation
Adjective
social
( Hong Kong Cantonese ) social ; sociable ; outgoing
Verb
social
( Hong Kong Cantonese ) to socialize ( to interact with others )
References
Danish
Etymology
From French social , from Latin sociālis ( “ concerning a partner or an ally ” ) , an adjective derived from the noun socius ( “ partner, ally ” ) .
Pronunciation
Adjective
social (neuter socialt , plural and definite singular attributive sociale )
social
sociable
Further reading
French
Etymology
From Latin sociālis ( “ of or belonging to a companion, companionship or association, social ” ) , from socius ( “ a companion, ally ” ) .
Pronunciation
Adjective
social (feminine sociale , masculine plural sociaux , feminine plural sociales )
social , related to society, community
Un devoir social . ― A social obligation.
social , living in society
l’homme est un animal social . ― Man is a social animal.
mundane , related to social life
1922 , Marcel Proust, Fugitive :Était-ce parce que la vie sociale de Gilberte devait présenter les mêmes contrastes que celle de Swann ? (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Noun
social m (plural sociaux )
action intended to make society work better
faire du social . ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Further reading
Galician
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin sociālis .
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -al
Hyphenation: so‧cial
Adjective
social m or f (plural sociais )
social
Derived terms
Further reading
Italian
Etymology
Ellipsis of social network .
Noun
social m
social network
2019 October 1, “Zuckerberg è pronto alla battaglia contro Warren e TikTok (e Facebook non perde utenti)”, in Corriere della Sera :TikTok è sia la prima piattaforma cinese a imporsi nel resto del mondo sia l’unico social a ottenere numeri finora inanellati solo da Menlo Park (500 milioni di utenti), eppure non sembra causare particolari grattacapi. (please add an English translation of this quotation)
( in the plural ) social media
postare sui social ― to post on social media
2018 January 25, ““Un inconveniente tecnico”: il tweet di Trenord fa infuriare i social, poi le scuse”, in La Stampa :«Circolazione interrotta tra Treviglio e Milano a causa di un inconveniente tecnico a un treno»: è il tweet di Trenord delle 8.09 che ha fatto infuriare i social dopo il deragliamento a Seggiano di Pioltello. (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Anagrams
Alciso , lascio , lasciò , licosa , olisca , salcio , salico , scialo , scialo- , scialò , scolai , solcai
Middle French
Etymology
First known attestation 1355,[ 1] borrowed from Latin sociālis .
Adjective
social m (feminine singular sociale , masculine plural sociaulx , feminine plural sociales )
allied ( on the same side )
social ( tending to spend time with others )
Descendants
References
Godefroy, Frédéric , Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX e au XV e siècle (1881) (social , supplement)
Occitan
Etymology
From Latin sociālis .
Pronunciation
Adjective
social m (feminine singular sociala , masculine plural socials , feminine plural socialas )
social ( relating to society )
Piedmontese
Pronunciation
Adjective
social
social
Portuguese
Etymology
From Latin sociālis . By surface analysis , sócio + -al .
Pronunciation
( Brazil ) IPA (key ) : /so.siˈaw/ , ( faster pronunciation ) /soˈsjaw/
Rhymes: ( Portugal ) -al , ( Brazil ) -aw
Hyphenation: so‧ci‧al
Adjective
social m or f (plural sociais )
social ( relating to society )
( business ) social ( relating to business firms )
social ; outgoing ; extroverted
Synonyms: sociável , extrovertido
Antonym: associal
( ecology ) social ( living in large groups )
( Brazil ) for use by the residents of an apartment block, as opposed to maintenance workers or deliverymen
Elevador social . ― Residents’ lift.
Derived terms
Noun
social m or f (plural sociais )
( Brazil , informal ) a small party between close people or friends
Further reading
“social ” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo , 1913
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French social .
Pronunciation
Adjective
social m or n (feminine singular socială , masculine plural sociali , feminine and neuter plural sociale )
social ( of or relating to society )
Declension
Further reading
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin sociālis ( “ of or belonging to a companion, companionship or association, social ” ) , from socius ( “ a companion, ally ” ) .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : ( Spain ) /soˈθjal/
IPA (key ) : ( Latin America, Philippines ) /soˈsjal/
Rhymes: -al
Syllabification: so‧cial
Adjective
social m or f (masculine and feminine plural sociales )
social
Derived terms
Further reading
Swedish
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /sosiˈɑːl/ , /soˈɧɑːl/
Adjective
social (comparative mer social , superlative mest social )
( not comparable ) social , pertaining to living conditions and society ( of an issue )
social, kind , friendly , welcoming , outgoing ( of a person )
Synonyms: utåtriktad , sällskaplig , föreningsintresserad
Declension
1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.2 Dated or archaic.3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
References