MEANING
1. To put things into a line or corresponding positions, or to come into that arrangement.
2. To agree or correspond, or to make aims, actions, or measures agree with one another.
3. To support or associate oneself with a person, group, or position.
Use it for
describing physical parts placed in corresponding positions; distinguishing spatial arrangement from agreement of views; explaining why a diagram’s items line upSeparates physical arrangement, agreement between aims or measures, and deliberate support for a position. Writing functions: Comparison / Contrast, Argumentation.
Words that belong together
- align the edges
- align with the centre
- align the components
On the page
The diagram aligns each observation with the date on which it was recorded.
The two openings align only when the outer ring is turned.
The proposed measure does not align with the construct the study claims to assess.
The revision aligns the policy’s eligibility rules with its stated objective.
The author aligns herself with the critics of the policy without accepting every part of their argument.
Word forms
- Base
- align
- Past tense
- aligned
- Past participle
- aligned
- Present participle
- aligning
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- align
- Present continuous
- am/is/are aligning
- Present perfect
- have/has aligned
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been aligning
- Past
- aligned
- Past continuous
- was/were aligning
- Past perfect
- had aligned
- Past perfect continuous
- had been aligning
- Future
- will align
- Future continuous
- will be aligning
- Future perfect
- will have aligned
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been aligning
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Transitive or intransitive verb; aligns, aligned, aligned, aligning; future will align. Align A with B; align with a view; align oneself with a group. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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