collective

collective — adjective

1. done together or experienced as a whole by all the people in a group, rather tha

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

done together or experienced as a whole by all the people in a group, rather than belonging to any single person alone — for instance, when a team takes collective responsibility for a mistake, each member accepts a share of the blame.

Example

The team made a collective decision to extend the project deadline by two weeks.

collocation: collective decision

After the flood, the collective effort of the neighbourhood helped rebuild three homes.

collocation: collective effort

Common collocations
  • collective decision
  • collective responsibility
  • collective effort
  • collective action
  • collective bargaining
  • collective memory
  • collective noun
Synonyms
  • shared

    more general; can apply to any resource or feeling, not just group action

  • joint

    often implies two or a few parties together, less common for large groups

  • common

    broader; can mean 'widespread' or 'ordinary' as well as 'shared'

  • communal

    suggests a community sharing resources or space, often with a warmer tone

Antonyms
  • individual

    refers to one person alone rather than the whole group

  • personal

    relates to a single person's private matters, not group affairs

  • private

    owned or controlled by one person, not the group

Grammar Patterns

collective + noun

Usage Note

Often placed before a noun. Common in workplace, political, and community contexts. Unlike 'individual', which highlights one person, 'collective' always refers to the whole group acting or being considered together.

Common Mistakes

The team made a collective mistake, but only Tom caused it.
The team made a collective mistake that everyone contributed to.
Collective means the whole group shares something; it does not fit when only one person is responsible.

collective — noun

Word family

  • collectively
    adverbB2
  • collectivism
    nounC1
  • collectivist
    adjectiveC1
  • collectivize
    verbC1
  • collectivization
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something that belongs to or involves more than one person, but they differ in scope and tone. 'Shared' is the most neutral and general — a shared apartment or a shared goal, with no special formality. 'Joint' often implies two or a few specific parties working together, as in a joint bank account or a joint statement by two leaders. 'Common' is broader and can mean 'widespread' (a common opinion) or 'ordinary' (a common mistake), so it is less precise for the group-action meaning. 'Communal' carries a warmer, community-oriented feeling — a communal garden or a communal kitchen — and often suggests a lifestyle choice of sharing resources. For most business or policy contexts, 'collective' is the most formal and precise choice. Example: 'The workers reached a collective agreement' (formal, whole group) sounds much stronger than 'The workers reached a shared agreement' (neutral, vague).

sharedjoint ↗common ↗communal

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • collectively

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Collective comes from the Latin word 'collectivus', meaning 'gathered together'. This in turn comes from 'colligere' — 'com-' (together) plus 'legere' (to gather or choose). The word entered English through French ('collectif') in the 1400s, first as an adjective describing things gathered into a whole, and later as a noun referring to a group operating as one unit.