correlation

cor·re·la·tion
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UK/ˌkɒɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/US/ˌkɔɹ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/US/ˌkɑ.ɹəˈleɪ.ʃən/

noun

A reciprocal, parallel or complementary relationship between two or more comparable objects.

“weak correlation”

CommonScrabble 13

Meanings

nouncorrelation (countable and uncountable, plural correlations)

plural correlations

  1. countableuncountableA reciprocal, parallel or complementary relationship between two or more comparable objects.

    weak correlation

    3 more examples

    clear correlation

    positive correlation

    strong correlation

  2. countableuncountablemathematicsOne of the several measures of the linear statistical relationship between two random variables, indicating both the strength and direction of the relationship.

    For example, scientists can use data from larger studies about the correlation between antibody levels and vaccine efficacy in adults to make a prediction about vaccine efficacy in children.

    2022 March 22, Tasnim Ahmed, “How protected are we against Covid-19? Scientists search for a test to measure immunity”, in CNN
    1 more example

    While there are physiological changes throughout the day that may influence how you handle things, there are bigger correlations between mental health and well-being and time of year, according to Rutledge.

    2025 February 4, Madeline Holcombe, “Just deal with it in the morning. Your mental health will be better then, study suggests”, in CNN
  3. countableuncountablealgebraAn isomorphism from a projective space to the dual of a projective space, often to the dual of itself.

Synonyms & antonyms

Broader

nouna reciprocal relation between two or more things

nouna statistic representing how closely two variables co-vary; it can vary from -1 (perfect negative correlation) through 0 (no correlation) to +1 (perfect positive correlation)

Similar
correlation coefficientcoefficient of correlation
Broader
parametric statistic

nouna statistical relation between two or more variables such that systematic changes in the value of one variable are accompanied by systematic changes in the other

Similar
correlational statistics
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchcorrélation
  2. Englishcorrelation

From Middle French corrélation. Morphologically correlate + -ion.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic اِرْتِبَاط, اِرْتِبَاط
  • اِرْتِبَاط (irtibāṭ)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • اِرْتِبَاط (irtibāṭ)measure of relationship
Basque korrelazio
  • korrelaziomeasure of relationship
Bulgarian зависомост, взаимна зависомост
  • зависомост (zavisomost)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • взаимна зависомост (vzaimna zavisomost)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • корелация (korelacija)measure of relationship
Catalan correlació, correlació
  • correlacióa reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • correlaciómeasure of relationship
Chinese Mandarin 相关性
  • 相关性 (xiāngguānxìng)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
Czech korelace
  • korelacemeasure of relationship
Dutch correlatie, correlatie
  • correlatiea reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • correlatiemeasure of relationship
Estonian korrelatsioon
  • korrelatsioonmeasure of relationship
Finnish suhde, vastaavuussuhde
  • suhdea reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • vastaavuussuhdea reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • vastaavuussuhdemeasure of relationship
  • korrelaatiomeasure of relationship
  • riippuvuussuhdemeasure of relationship
French corrélation, corrélation
  • corrélationa reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • corrélationmeasure of relationship
German Korrelation, Assoziation
  • Korrelationa reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • Assoziationa reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • Zusammenhanga reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • Korrelationmeasure of relationship
Greek συσχέτιση
  • συσχέτιση (syschétisi)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
Hindi सहसंबंध, सहसंबंध
  • सहसंबंध (sahsambandh)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • सहसंबंध (sahsambandh)measure of relationship
Hungarian összefüggés, korreláció
  • összefüggésa reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • korrelációmeasure of relationship
Indonesian korelasi, korelasi
  • korelasia reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • korelasimeasure of relationship
Italian correlazione, nesso
  • correlazionea reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • nessoa reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • correlazionemeasure of relationship
  • corrispondenzameasure of relationship
Japanese 相関
  • 相関 (sōkan)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
Norwegian Bokmål korrelasjon
  • korrelasjona reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
Persian همبستگی
  • همبستگی (hambastagi)measure of relationship
Polish korelacja
  • korelacjameasure of relationship
Portuguese correlação, correlação
  • correlaçãoa reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • correlaçãomeasure of relationship
Romanian corelație
  • corelațiemeasure of relationship
Russian корреляция, взаимосвязь
  • корреляция (korreljacija)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • взаимосвязь (vzaimosvjazʹ)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • взаимозависимость (vzaimozavisimostʹ)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • корреля́ция (korreljácija)measure of relationship
Spanish correlación, correlación
  • correlacióna reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • correlaciónmeasure of relationship
Swedish korrelation
  • korrelationmeasure of relationship
Tagalog satugnay
  • satugnaymeasure of relationship
Thai สหสัมพันธ์
  • สหสัมพันธ์ (sà-hà-sǎm-pan)measure of relationship
Turkish korelasyon
  • korelasyona reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
Ukrainian кореля́ція, кореля́ція
  • кореля́ція (koreljácija)a reciprocal, parallel, or complementary relationship
  • кореля́ція (koreljácija)measure of relationship

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with correlation

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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