commune

1 of 2

verb

com·​mune kə-ˈmyün How to pronounce commune (audio)
communed; communing

transitive verb

obsolete : talk over, discuss
have more to communeWilliam Shakespeare

intransitive verb

1
: to receive Communion
The people who had communed returned to their pews using the side aisles.
2
: to communicate intimately
commune with nature
… he stands communing with his soul on a bridge …Richard Alleva

commune

2 of 2

noun

com·​mune ˈkäm-ˌyün How to pronounce commune (audio)
kə-ˈmyün,
kä-
1
: the smallest administrative district of many countries especially in Europe
2
3
: community: such as
a
: a medieval usually municipal corporation
b(1)
: mir
(2)
: an often rural community organized on a communal basis

Examples of commune in a Sentence

Verb a psychic who communes with the dead after a week in the wilderness, the scouts were really starting to commune with nature Noun He's living in a religious commune.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But Green is a witch, and communing with the world around him is at the heart of his craft. Scottie Andrew, CNN, 26 Oct. 2024 The memoir is a chance to commune with the mind of a dissident. Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2024
Noun
Metzger ended up in Leeds in an ORT training school learning woodworking and eventually found work in a furniture factory outside Leeds in the country on the Harwood Estate, before moving to a radical Marxist commune in Bristol where Metzger found the politics too extreme. Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024 Many of these groups also saw restrictions on free speech as a threat to their liberty of belief—and indeed their liberty to imagine new ways to commune, see, and be. Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for commune 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'commune.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, to share, receive Communion, from Anglo-French communer, cummunier, from Late Latin communicare, from Latin — see communicate

Noun

French, alteration of Middle French comugne, from Medieval Latin communia, from Latin, neuter plural of communis

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

1673, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of commune was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near commune

Cite this Entry

“Commune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commune. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

commune

1 of 2 verb
com·​mune kə-ˈmyün How to pronounce commune (audio)
communed; communing
1
: to receive Communion
2
: to be in close communication with someone or something
commune with nature

commune

2 of 2 noun
com·​mune ˈkäm-ˌyün How to pronounce commune (audio)
kə-ˈmyün
1
: the smallest administrative district of many countries especially in Europe
2
: a small group of people that live together and share property and duties

More from Merriam-Webster on commune

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