communally

IPA/kəˈmjuːnəli/
IPA/kəˈmjuːnəli/

communally — adverb

1. in a shared way, with several people acting, paying, using, or deciding together

1.adverbC1
Definition

in a shared way, with several people acting, paying, using, or deciding together instead of separately.

Example

The twelve students cooked communally in the dorm kitchen every Sunday night.

pattern: verb + communally in shared daily life

After the flood, six neighbours communally paid for a new generator.

shared cost: pay for something communally

Common collocations
  • live communally
  • eat communally
  • pay communally
  • decide communally
  • decorate communally
Synonyms
  • collectively

    stresses the group acting as one body, often in decisions or official action

  • jointly

    more formal and common for shared ownership, payment, or legal responsibility

  • together

    broader everyday word that does not always imply a shared system or communal life

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

verb + communally

be + past participle + communally

Usage Note

Usually modifies verbs about shared living, spending, eating, cleaning, or decision-making. It often suggests an organized group arrangement rather than people merely doing something at the same time.

Common Mistakes

The two tourists walked communally to the museum.
The two tourists walked together to the museum.
'communally' suggests shared group arrangements, not simply moving side by side.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

'Together' is the broad everyday choice for people being in the same action or place. 'Jointly' is more formal and often appears with money, ownership, or legal responsibility. 'Collectively' stresses a group acting as one body, especially in decisions, protest, or official statements. 'Communally' is narrower than all three: it usually suggests shared living, shared use, or a group arrangement inside one household, camp, building, or neighborhood. People may travel together or sign a contract jointly, but they are more likely to eat, clean, or pay communally when the action grows out of daily shared life. So neighbors might communally buy a generator, while two companies jointly own a warehouse.

communally ↗collectively ↗jointly ↗together ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • live communally
  • eat communally
  • pay communally
  • decide communally

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Communally comes from communal, which entered English through French from Latin communis, meaning 'shared' or 'held in common'. The adverb keeps that same idea and is used when a group live, use, pay, or decide things in a shared way rather than as separate individuals.

First known use

1796

1796, in the meaning defined at sense 1