commonality

C3O1M3M3O1N1A1L1I1T1Y4
UK/ˌkɒm.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/US/ˌkɑ.məˈnæl.ə.ti/US[-ɾi]Australia/ˌkɔm.əˈnæl.ə.ti/

noun

The joint possession of a set of attributes or characteristics.

Less commonScrabble 20

Meanings

commonality1

nouncommonality (countable and uncountable, plural commonalities)

plural commonalities

  1. countableuncountableThe joint possession of a set of attributes or characteristics.

    Zunin sold the idea to his military superiors in the fearful jargon of his profession: "In a situation where commonality of loss of the husband is present, the group can be exceedingly supportive."

    25 June 1969, “Second life for war widows”, in Time
  2. countableuncountableSuch a shared attribute or characteristic

    Synonyms: commonship

  3. countableuncountablecommunicationsA quality that applies to materiel or systems: (a) possessing like and interchangeable parts or characteristics enabling each to be utilized, or operated and maintained in common; (b) having interchangeable repair parts and/or components; (c) applying to consumable items interchangeably equivalent without adjustment.
    1 more example

    2003, NASA, Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster Transcript, transcript of radio communication, KLING: FYI I've just lost four separate temperature transducers on the left side of the vehicle, hydraulic return temperatures. (pause) Two of them on system one and one in each of systems 2 and 3. CAIN: Four hyd return temps? KLING: To the left outboard and left inboard elevons. CAIN: OK, is there anything common to them, DSC or MDM or anything? I mean, you're telling me you lost them all at exactly the same time? KLING: No, not exactly. They were within probably four or five seconds of each other. CAIN: OK, where are those? Where is that instrumentation located? KLING: All four of them are located in the aft part of the left wing, right in front of the elevons, elevon actuators. And there is no commonality. CAIN: No commonality. (long pause)

commonality2

nouncommonality (countable and uncountable, plural commonalities)

plural commonalities

  1. countableobsoleteuncountableThe common people; the commonalty.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSuch a shared attribute or characteristic

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nouna class composed of persons lacking clerical or noble rank

nounsharing of common attributes

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

commonality · noun

  1. Middle Englishcomunalite
  2. Englishcommonality

Inherited from Middle English comunalite, remodelling of comunalte (modern English commonalty) as if from a putative Medieval Latin *commūnālitās.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto komuneco
  • komunecojoint possession of a set of characteristics
Finnish samankaltaisuus, yhteensopivuus
  • samankaltaisuusjoint possession of a set of characteristics
  • yhteensopivuusjoint possession of a set of characteristics
  • yhteinen piirresuch shared characteristic
  • yhteensopivuustelecom: property of having these characteristics
French communité
  • communitésuch shared characteristic
German German, Gemeinsamkeit
  • Germanjoint possession of a set of characteristics
  • Gemeinsamkeitjoint possession of a set of characteristics
  • Gemeinsamkeitsuch shared characteristic
Japanese 共通点
  • 共通点 (kyōtsūten)such shared characteristic
Russian о́бщность, унифицированность
  • о́бщность (óbščnostʹ)joint possession of a set of characteristics
  • унифицированность (unificirovannostʹ)joint possession of a set of characteristics
  • унифицированность (unificirovannostʹ)telecom: property of having these characteristics
  • совмести́мость (sovmestímostʹ)telecom: property of having these characteristics
Spanish comunalidad
  • comunalidadjoint possession of a set of characteristics

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

commonality. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/commonality

MLA

“commonality.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/commonality. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “commonality,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/commonality.

Source: commonality on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.