communal
/kəˈmjuːnl/ (bre, ipa) · /kəˈmjuːnl/ (ame, ipa) · /kə-ˈmyü-nᵊl ˈkäm-yə-nᵊl/ (ame, mw)
communal — adjective
- communalpositive
- more communalcomparative
- most communalsuperlative
1. available for everyone in a group to use together rather than just one person —
available for everyone in a group to use together rather than just one person — for example, a kitchen everyone in a building can cook in, or a garden looked after by all the neighbours.
The students in Aoi's dormitory share a communal kitchen on every floor.
attributive use: communal + noun (kitchen / bathroom / space)
Indra and her neighbours plant vegetables in the communal garden behind the apartments.
typical noun: communal garden / space / area
Residents wash their clothes in a communal laundry room near the lobby.
At Omar's village school, lunch was a communal meal eaten under the mango tree.
The cabins all face a communal fire pit where guests gather after sunset.
- shared
plainer everyday word; works in the same noun slots
- public
open to anyone outside, not just one defined group; broader than communal
- collective
emphasises joint ownership or decision-making, not just shared use
文法句型
communal + noun
be + communal
用法筆記
Almost always sits directly before a noun naming a place, object, or activity. Subjects are typically physical things many people make use of (kitchen, garden, bathroom, area, space, meal).
常見錯誤
2. describing a way of living where a group share their home, work, money, and belo
describing a way of living where a group share their home, work, money, and belongings as one household instead of each family owning things separately.
Kemi spent two years on a communal farm where every adult took turns cooking and milking the goats.
typical noun: communal farm / household / community
The group set up a communal household in rural Wales and shared one bank account.
collocation: communal household / living
Hugo grew up in a communal community where children were raised by all the adults.
Their communal lifestyle meant no one owned a car or a private room.
- collective
near-equivalent for this sense; common in 'collective farm', 'collective living'
- cooperative
emphasises joint running of a project or business, not necessarily shared home life
- individualist
valuing personal ownership and independence over group sharing
文法句型
communal + society / living / lifestyle
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 covers any space several people share (a kitchen, a garden) without changing how anyone lives or owns property; sense 2 specifically describes a chosen lifestyle in which ownership itself is collective.
3. describing problems, fighting, or relations that happen between different ethnic
describing problems, fighting, or relations that happen between different ethnic, religious, or cultural groups living in the same place — often used by news media when reporting on riots or long-running tension.
The election campaign sparked fresh communal violence in several northern districts.
collocation: communal violence / riots / clashes
Reuben writes a weekly column on easing communal tensions between the city's religious groups.
collocation: communal tensions / relations / harmony
Padma's grandmother remembers the communal riots that swept through her hometown in 1947.
Local leaders met for hours to repair communal relations after the temple fire.
- sectarian
stresses the religious-faction angle specifically; common for Christian-vs-Christian or Sunni-vs-Shia conflict
- intercommunal
more technical synonym; same meaning, used in academic writing
文法句型
communal + violence / tension / conflict / relations
用法筆記
Subject collocates are almost always abstract nouns of conflict or social relation (violence, riots, clashes, tension, harmony, relations). Common in South Asian and African journalism; less frequent in everyday American English.