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collective

1 of 2

adjective

col·lec·tivekə-ˈlek-tiv How to pronounce collective (audio)

Synonyms ofcollective next

:denoting a number of persons or things considered as one group or whole

flock is acollective word

:formed by collecting:aggregated

of a fruit:multiple

:of, relating to, or being a group of individuals

:involving all members of a group as distinct from its individuals

acollective action

:marked by similarity among or with the members of a group

thecollective interests of the town

:collectivized or characterized bycollectivism

collective farming

collective communities

:shared or assumed by all members of the group

collective responsibility

thecollective opinion of the staff

collective guilt

collectivelyadverb

collective

2 of 2

noun

:a collective body:group

a socialcollective

:a cooperative unit or organization

specifically:collective farm

:a helicopter control system governing lift

Synonyms ofcollective

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples ofcollective in a Sentence

Adjective We made acollective decision to go on strike. The incident became part of ourcollective memory. thecollective wisdom of generations

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.Send us feedback.

Adjective

What emerges most from Dao is Gomis’ idea that the story of a film perhaps matters less than thecollective act of making it with friends, colleagues and a variety of new talents.—

Jordan Mintzer,HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026The creative team behind the Berlinale competition title Nightborn gave a strong,collective response to a question about the ongoing debate around politics at the festival during a press conference this afternoon.—

Zac Ntim,Deadline, 14 Feb. 2026

Noun

The Berlin Film Festival is welcoming some of the world’s most gifted moviemakers – none more talented than the young Nigeriancollective known as The Critics.—

Matthew Carey,Deadline, 14 Feb. 2026When one soul speaks its truth, the frequency of truth expands through thecollective.—

Payton Turkeltaub,Variety, 13 Feb. 2026See All Example Sentences forcollective

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle Englishcollectif, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latincollēctīvus, going back to Late Latin, "comprehensive, (in logic and grammar) inferential," going back to Latin, "preceding by inference, deductive," fromcollēctus, past participle ofcolligere "to gather together, assemble, accumulate, deduce, infer" +-īvus-ive — more atcollectentry 2

Noun

derivative ofcollectiveentry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined atsense 1

Noun

1655, in the meaning defined atsense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use ofcollective was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century