accommodation
Pluralaccommodations
- 1
- 2The act of changing something so it fits or works with something else.
Like changing your plans so they fit a new situation.
The accommodation of the new rules took the team several weeks.
Her quick accommodation to city life surprised everyone.
Similaradaptation, adjustment, customization
Note
- 3A settling of differences between people so they reach agreement or compromise.
Like two friends meeting halfway to settle an argument.
After a long argument, the two sides reached an accommodation.
Their accommodation ended the dispute over the shared fence.
Similarcompromise, settlement, agreement, understanding, arrangement
Oppositeimpasse, deadlock, disagreement
Note
- 4A willingness to help others or do them favors.
Like a helpful friend who is always glad to do you a favor.
Thank you for your accommodation in changing the meeting time.
The staff showed great accommodation toward the elderly guests.
Similarhelpfulness, flexibility, cooperation, consideration, obligingness
Oppositeinflexibility, intransigence, obstinacy
- 5Something useful, such as a built-in part, that is there to meet a need.
The best accommodation in our camper is a little sink that folds into the wall.
Our kitchen has clever accommodations, like a drawer just for spices and a hook for every pan.
Similaramenity, convenience, facility, fitting, provision
Note
- 6The way an organism, organ, or body part changes to fit new conditions.
Like your body slowly getting used to cold water.
The plant's accommodation to dry soil helped it survive.
Over weeks, the body's accommodation to high altitude improved her breathing.
Similaradaptation, adjustment, acclimatization
Note
- 7The way the eye changes its focus to see things at different distances.
Like a camera changing its focus from something far away to something close.
As we age, the eye's accommodation becomes slower.
Reading small print up close depends on good accommodation.
Note
- 8The way a speaker changes how they talk to match the people they are speaking with.
Like changing how you talk to a small child so they understand you.
His accommodation to his friends' slang made him fit in fast.
Speaking slowly is a kind of accommodation when talking to learners.
Similaradaptation, adjustment, convergence
Oppositedivergence
Note
- 9
- 10An offer to send other goods to finish a deal, binding the buyer if they accept.
Like a store offering a different but similar item when the one you ordered is sold out.
The seller sent an accommodation when the original parts ran out.
The buyer accepted the accommodation and the deal was complete.
Similarsubstitute, replacement
Note
- 11A signed note that lets someone borrow on your good name, even though you get no money yourself.
Like co-signing a loan so a friend can borrow using your good name.
He signed an accommodation note so his brother could get the loan.
The accommodation bill let the young trader raise cash on his partner's name.
Note
- 12The space where sand and mud can settle and build up over time.
Like the empty space in a jar that decides how much sand can fill it.
Rising sea levels created more accommodation for sediment along the coast.
When the basin sank, new accommodation opened up for sand to settle.
Note
- 13A way of explaining religious teaching by saying it was adjusted to fit what people could understand.
Like a teacher explaining a hard idea in simple words so a child can understand.
Some teachers explain hard verses through accommodation, saying they were written for simple minds.
By accommodation, the difficult passage was read as suited to its first hearers.
Note
- 14Using a writer's words to describe something the author never meant them to describe.
Like using an old saying to describe something it was never about.
By accommodation, the old poem's lines were used to describe a new event.
The preacher's accommodation of the verse gave it a fresh meaning.
Similaranalogy, adaptation
Note
Practice
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Origin
It comes from French accommodation, which came from Latin accommodātiō meaning "adjustment," from a verb meaning "to adapt or put in order." The "lodging" sense first appeared in 1600.