What does communion mean?
Communion is a noun describing an intimate sharing or exchange of thoughts and feelings, particularly at a spiritual level. Its most familiar use is religious: Holy Communion is the Christian rite, also known as the Eucharist, in which worshippers share bread and wine as an act of remembrance and fellowship with Christ. Beyond the church, communion conveys a sense of deep connection — with another person, with nature, or with something transcendent — suggesting not casual conversation but a merging of minds or spirits. The word carries warm, reverent, and contemplative connotations, appearing more often in literary, poetic, or formal registers than in ordinary speech. Derived from Latin communio, meaning 'sharing in common', it is etymologically related to words like communicate and communal, all rooted in the idea of holding something together rather than apart. Whether describing a silent walk in the woods or a sacred meal at an altar, communion names that rare moment when two beings genuinely meet.
nounThe sharing or exchange of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a deep spiritual level; also, the Christian rite (also called the Eucharist or Holy Communion) in which bread and wine are shared in remembrance of Christ.
- An intimate spiritual fellowship or sharing of thoughts and feelings, especially with God, nature, or another person.
- The Christian sacrament of the Eucharist; Holy Communion.
- A group of people professing a common faith (as in 'be in communion with a church').
"She felt a quiet communion with nature as she walked alone through the misty forest."
"In the stillness of dawn, he experienced a profound communion with the sea."
"The congregation gathered to receive Communion on Easter Sunday."
Rarely pluralised; the plural appears mainly in ecclesiastical contexts referring to multiple celebrations of the rite or to different denominational bodies in communion with one another.
"The parish recorded several extra communions during the Christmas season."
Communion comes from Latin communio — 'sharing in common' — making it a cousin of 'communicate': to truly communicate is, at root, to make something common between two souls.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of communion
Communion derives from Latin communio, meaning 'fellowship' or 'sharing in common', formed from communis ('common') — the same root that gives us community, communicate, and common itself. The word entered English via Old French in the medieval period, its earliest uses tied closely to the Christian Eucharist, where communicants literally 'share in common' the body of Christ. Over time its sense broadened from the strictly sacramental to any deep spiritual or emotional fellowship, allowing writers to speak of communion with nature, with the dead, or between kindred spirits.
How communion is actually used
Communion is a formal or literary word. In everyday speech it most often appears in religious contexts, where capitalised 'Communion' typically refers specifically to the Eucharist; lowercase 'communion' more commonly carries the broader sense of spiritual or emotional fellowship. It is usually uncountable in both main senses.
Easily confused with communion
Communication is any exchange of information, whereas communion implies a deep, often spiritual sharing of inner experience rather than mere transmission of messages.
Community refers to a group of people living together or sharing common interests, while communion denotes a personal, intimate act of shared feeling or worship.