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to cohabit

to cohabit

1 6.0
To exist together in the same place or at the same time
  • verb
  • /koʊˈhæbɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : cohabitar
  • Unless the world is content to cohabit with chronic disorder and widespread violence, a synthetic version of law-and-order interventionism by great powers will have to be invented.

I have to look at and spend time in all this area and really is a way cohabit with it.

Examples

  • The danger is greatest and the violence worst where the two communities cohabit, as in Baghdad and in parts of the four surrounding provinces: Anbar, Babil, Diyala, and Salahuddin.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Different animal species often cohabit in the same ecosystem, relying on each other for survival.

  • But on some other occasions, even if the boundaries serve to determine the location of one nation, it can cohabit with many other nations.

    Academic text (1999)
  • There will be two application platforms cohabiting Windows, starting with Windows 8.

    Blog text (24)
  • Money and love can cohabit, and it's about damn time they did under our lefty roof.

    Blog text (28)
  • The culture concept thus cohabits uneasily with the theory of nationalism, making literary criticism a house divided against itself.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The danger, however, was a more severe disintegration of the ability of middling and lower classes to cohabit American cities, especially because of the increasing disparities in their incomes and living conditions.

    Academic text (1990)
  • In the open office, employees from different departments cohabit the same space to encourage collaboration.

  • Ants and aphids cohabit in a mutually beneficial relationship, where ants protect aphids in exchange for honeydew.

Synonyms

to coexist
vsto cohabit
49 4.2

Exist together in the same place or at the same time without fighting

is neutral about conflict and only refers to being present in time or place
to cohabitate
vsto cohabit
  • Formal
1 5.3

To exist together in the same place, often for ideas, groups, or systems

is about existing together in place or time rather than actual living together

Antonyms

256 4.2

To keep someone or something apart from others

22 6.8

To separate things or parts for a special purpose

How Close

to coincide
80 4.4
to overlap
25 3.5
to cohabit
  • Formal
1 6.0

Surface Forms

cohabit infinitive
cohabited past
cohabited past participle
cohabiting present participle
cohabits third person singular

Morphology

cohabit = habit (semi-transparent) = co + habit

Same reasoning as sense 1: 'co-' is productive but 'habit' does not clearly mean 'to dwell' to many learners, so 'exist together' is only partially predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Cohabit comes from the Latin parts co- 'together' and habitare 'to live', so it literally means 'live together'. That's why we also use cohabit for different things or groups that exist in the same place at the same time, like plants or animals that live together.