Words / B2

kongr-i-GAYSHUN/ˌkɒŋɡrɪˈɡeɪʃn/

A congregation is a group of people gathered for worship, or that community: the congregation; a congregation of 200. Audience is for performance; crowd is unstructured. Count the congregation only if the source gives a figure. Mix-up: conjugation; congress (next). Do not write congregation for a football crowd unless the source uses worship language ironically.

Meaning

A group of people gathered for worship, or that community.

Examples

• “Count the congregation only if the source gives a figure, the RS paper said.”
• “The congregation voted on the repair fund, which is the community-decision sense.”

Good to know

the congregation; a congregation of. Performance group: audience. Trap: congress / conjugation. RS, history, and news. People gathered to worship, not any crowd.

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