correspondence

correspondence — noun

1. the written messages, such as formal letters, official documents, or emails, tha

1.名詞B1
釋義

the written messages, such as formal letters, official documents, or emails, that people or organizations send to one another

例句

Dewi found a pile of business correspondence waiting on her desk Monday morning.

uncountable noun: business correspondence

All official correspondence must be reviewed by the legal team before it leaves the office.

同義詞
  • mail

    more general term for postal items; 'correspondence' often implies formal or business communication

  • letters

    more specific — 'letters' usually means handwritten or typed personal messages; 'correspondence' also covers emails and official documents

  • written communication

    formal and broader term for any exchange in writing

文法句型

correspondence with [somebody]

correspondence between [somebody and somebody]

用法筆記

This sense is uncountable — use 'a piece of correspondence' or 'items of correspondence' to refer to individual messages, not 'a correspondence'.

常見錯誤

❌I received a correspondence from the bank.
✅I received a piece of correspondence from the bank.
💡'correspondence' is uncountable when referring to letters or messages.
❌The correspondent was on my desk.
✅The correspondence was on my desk.
💡'correspondent' means a person who writes; 'correspondence' is the written material itself.

2. the regular exchange of personal or formal letters between two people who keep i

2.名詞B2
釋義

the regular exchange of personal or formal letters between two people who keep in touch by writing over a period of time

例句

Yasmin and her grandmother kept up a lively correspondence for more than ten years.

collocation: keep up a correspondence

The two historians began a correspondence after meeting at a conference in Kyoto.

同義詞

文法句型

correspondence between [somebody] and [somebody]

keep up a correspondence

enter into correspondence

用法筆記

Unlike sense 1 (LETTERS / MAIL), which refers to the written items themselves, this sense describes the ongoing activity of exchanging letters. It can be used as a countable singular noun: 'a correspondence' = one exchange of letters between two people.

常見錯誤

❌We had a correspondence with letters about work projects.
✅Our correspondence covered work projects, family news, and travel stories.
💡avoid repetitive phrasing; 'correspondence' already implies letters.

3. a clear relationship or match between two things, such that a change in one is l

3.名詞C1
釋義

a clear relationship or match between two things, such that a change in one is linked to a change in the other, or the two share a similar structure or pattern

例句

The study found a direct correspondence between weekly exercise hours and sleep quality.

pattern: correspondence between [noun] and [noun]

There is a close correspondence between total rainfall and river height each spring.

collocation: close correspondence

同義詞
  • relationship

    broader and more general; 'correspondence' implies a tighter, more structured match

  • connection

    more informal; 'correspondence' is preferred in formal academic writing

  • similarity

    focuses on things being alike; 'correspondence' suggests a systematic one-to-one match

反義詞
  • difference

    a lack of correspondence means things do not match

  • mismatch

    when two things that should correspond do not align

文法句型

correspondence between [something] and [something]

用法筆記

Formal register. Frequently found in academic, scientific, and analytical writing. Compare with 'correlation' — correspondence suggests structural similarity or matching, while correlation specifically implies a statistical relationship.

常見錯誤

❌There is a correspondence between smoking and lung disease.
✅There is a strong link between smoking and lung disease.
💡'correspondence' suggests matching or similarity, not cause-and-effect; 'link' or 'correlation' is better for health statistics.