ligament

C2 Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈlɪɡəmənt/ UK /ˈlɪɡəmənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #33362

Meanings

1

noun
a strong band of fibrous tissue that connects bones or supports an organ in the body

The scan showed a torn ligament in her right knee.
2

noun
figurative: something that binds people or things together as a unifying link

Shared history remained the strongest ligament between the two communities.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a strong band of fibrous... fibrous bandconnective tissue

2 noun · figurative: something that... bond tie link connection

Opposites

severance disconnection

Word family

Forms ligaments

Derived forms ligamentalligamentaryligamentous

Related forms tendon sinew jointconnective tissueligation

Etymology

From Late Middle English ligament, from Latin ligamentum, 'bond or bandage,' from ligare, 'to bind.' The anatomical name preserves the literal idea of a binding band, while the older and figurative English sense applies the same image to any social or conceptual bond.

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# ligament

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈlɪɡəmənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈlɪɡəmənt/
**Frequency rank:** 33362

## Meanings
1. a strong band of fibrous tissue that connects bones or supports an organ in the body
2. figurative: something that binds people or things together as a unifying link

## Examples
- The scan showed a torn ligament in her right knee.
- Shared history remained the strongest ligament between the two communities.

## Synonyms
- fibrous band
- connective tissue
- bond
- tie
- link

## Antonyms
- severance
- disconnection

## Derived Forms
- ligamental
- ligamentary
- ligamentous

## Related Forms
- tendon
- sinew
- joint
- connective tissue
- ligation

## Etymology
From Late Middle English ligament, from Latin ligamentum, 'bond or bandage,' from ligare, 'to bind.' The anatomical name preserves the literal idea of a binding band, while the older and figurative English sense applies the same image to any social or conceptual bond.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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