Assignment vs Assignation - What's the difference?
As nouns the difference between assignment and assignation, assignation, usage notes.
Assignation or Assignment – Difference, Meaning & Examples
Marcus Froland
July 15, 2024
When learning English, it’s natural to find words that seem very similar, but have entirely different meanings. That’s just one of the many challenges that language learners face. Two such words are assignation and assignment . They sound so alike, you might think they’re interchangeable. Yet, they are not.
In this article, we are going to put these two under the spotlight. Our focus is to help you understand the difference between assignation and assignment , provide their meanings, and offer clear examples. It’s about getting you comfortable with these words and helping you use them correctly in your English journey. So, let’s get started!
The critical difference between Assignation and Assignment lies in their usage and context. Assignation primarily refers to an agreement or appointment for a meeting. For instance, “They had an assignation at the coffee shop.” On the other hand, an Assignment refers to a task or duty assigned to someone. For instance, “He completed his math assignment.”
Both terms originate from the verb ‘assign’ but are utilized differently. Assignation is more often used in legal or formal settings, but assignment is common in educational or work contexts. So, if you’re scheduling a secretive meeting, use assignation. But if you’re handing out tasks or duties, use assignment.
Understanding the Meaning of Assignation
The word assignation is rich in meaning, covering everything simple to secret. At its basic level, it means assigning tasks or property. But, it has a more exciting side in stories. Here it often means secret meetings , tied to love or forbidden activities.
Definition of Assignation
Traditionally, assignation is about giving out duties or rights. It’s used in law and history to talk about dividing up or handing out responsibilities. This is like using the word assign in everyday situations. But add a dash of mystery or love, and assignation takes on a new life. It then means secret meetings or private moments.
Examples of Assignation in Sentences
Let’s look at some examples of assignation to get a clear picture:
- In books, an assignation can mean secret meetings between lovers, adding mystery.
- News stories might hint at illicit relationships by mentioning assignation, adding a thrill.
- Old documents might talk about assignation when they discuss dividing land rights, in a more straightforward sense.
- In romantic stories today, a secret meeting in a cafe could be an assignation, hinting at hidden love.
Understanding the Meaning of Assignment
The word assignment holds great importance in various areas. These include education, work, and law. Exploring its meanings helps us understand its wide use and importance.
Definition of Assignment
In schools, an assignment is the work teachers give to students. It helps to check how much students understand and how they perform. At work, assignments are tasks given to employees. These tasks keep the business running smoothly and productively.
In the legal world, an assignment means transferring rights or property . This is key to understand how people can give or receive ownership and duties legally.
Examples of Assignment in Sentences
- For their big project, the students got an academic work challenging them to research and present their findings.
- The boss gave a hard task to the new employee to test how well they manage work under pressure.
- With the contract signed, the ownership officially changed hands through a property transfer .
Understanding assignment in its various forms is crucial. It allows us to be more effective in school, at work, and in legal matters. Recognizing these differences ensures we communicate and act clearly and confidently.
Assignation or Assignment: Key Differences
It’s vital to understand the difference between assignation and assignment for clear communication. The term assignation brings to mind secret or romantic meetings. It can also mean the act of assigning something. Meanwhile, assignment is about giving out tasks, duties, or responsibilities. This is common in school or work.
Assignation and assignment have different uses. Assignation suggests secrecy and is linked with private meetings. On the opposite side, assignment talks about clear duties or legal handovers. It doesn’t have the secret flavor that assignation does.
To avoid confusion, it’s key to know when to use each term. Calling a work task an assignation could suggest something secret or wrong. So, choosing the right word matters:
- Use assignation for secret or love meetings done quietly.
- Use assignment when you mean work tasks or handing over property, in formal or work settings.
Using the right term, assignation or assignment, makes your meaning clear. This way, you won’t confuse anyone.
Using Assignation and Assignment Correctly
It’s key to know how assignation and assignment differ. Each word has its own meaning. Using them right is key to avoid mix-ups.
When to Use Assignation
The word assignation is about secret meetings. These are often for romantic reasons. Books use it to talk about meetings held in private.
It hints at something hidden or confidential. This makes it perfect for talks that need to stay under wraps.
When to Use Assignment
Assignment , on the other hand, is about giving tasks. It’s used in schools, work, and law. For example, it can mean homework or handing over property rights.
This word doesn’t suggest secrets like assignation does. It’s all about structured, formal tasks.
Knowing these differences helps you communicate clearly. Use assignment for tasks, and assignation for secret meet-ups. This keeps your meaning clear and stops any confusion. It’s especially important in professional settings to avoid the wrong idea about secret meetings.
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Assignation or assignment
| Grammarist
An assignment is a task given to a specific person or group to complete. It can also mean the act of assigning . In some legal fields it can refer to the transferring of ownership of property.
An assignation is the act of assigning or the actual assignment. But it also means a secret rendezvous for lovers, most especially for affairs or illicit relationships. Sometimes this is used to mean a secret meeting or a regularly set meeting, but it would be confusing in this sense to those who are familiar with the standard meaning (see the example below). As a mass noun it can refer to something as being owned or belonging to something else.
Examples The choice has not been made, but it appears the team is more likely to option Orlando to Omaha, rather than designate Dyson for assignment. [ The Kansas City Star ] According to a criminal complaint, Ms Dale, 21, told a detective that Ethan refused to complete the assignment for the first time on 24 February. [ International Business Times ] I vaguely remember seeing images of Delhiites being water-hosed by police while rioting for “Nirbhaya,” an assignation that means “Fearless One,” given to Pandey by the media as authorities would not release her name. [ Huffington Post ] The rare exceptions include a scene in which Shulem follows his wife to an assignation with Félix, slapping his romantic rival to the sidewalk like a petulant schoolboy. [ The Washington Post ] Over the past few months, RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka, has been having an assignation every other Friday for a few hours. [ India Times ]
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[ uh - sahyn -m uh nt ]
She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.
Synonyms: job , obligation
He left for his assignment in the Middle East.
- an act of assigning; appointment.
- the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer.
- a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors.
/ əˈsaɪnmənt /
- something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task
- a position or post to which a person is assigned
- the act of assigning or state of being assigned
assignment of a lease
- the document effecting such a transfer
- the right, interest, or property transferred
- law (formerly) the transfer, esp by an insolvent debtor, of property in trust for the benefit of his creditors
- logic a function that associates specific values with each variable in a formal expression
- history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman
Other Words From
- misas·signment noun
- nonas·signment noun
- reas·signment noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of assignment 1
Synonym Study
Example sentences.
Yariel Valdés González and I faced these challenges while on assignment in South Florida and the Deep South from July 21-Aug.
They’re putting time into decoration just as they would in their physical classroom, and students can interact with the space by, say, clicking on a bookshelf to get a reading assignment.
For now, if the district moves to in-person learning, instruction in Carlsbad will take place on campus five days per week and students may engage in additional independent practices and other assignments at home.
The assignments must also respect the relationships between the elements in the group.
It’s very hard, by the way, to do real random assignment studies of couples therapy.
His most recent assignment was the 84th Precinct, at the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge.
When Lewis was shipped off to Vietnam, his son was just three months old, and the timing of the assignment worried Lewis.
When Vial got that first assignment, she was just beginning her photography career, and Cirque du Soleil was only a few years old.
“For our winter issue, we gave ourselves one assignment: Break The Internet,” wrote Paper.
By the 1950s the rapid assignment of gender to an ambiguously gendered infant had become standard.
Consent to an assignment may be given by the president of the company, without formal vote by the directors.
A transfer by the lessee of the whole or a part of his interest for a part of the time is a sublease and not an assignment.
An assignment to one who has an insurable interest as relative, creditor and the like, is always valid.
When an assignment of it is made, the assignee may sue in his own name for rent accruing after the assignment.
In some states statutes forbid the assignment of such policies for the benefit of creditors.
Related Words
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Definition of assign
(Entry 1 of 2)
transitive verb
Definition of assign (Entry 2 of 2)
- intrust
ascribe , attribute , assign , impute , credit mean to lay something to the account of a person or thing.
ascribe suggests an inferring or conjecturing of cause, quality, authorship.
attribute suggests less tentativeness than ascribe , less definiteness than assign .
assign implies ascribing with certainty or after deliberation.
impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame.
credit implies ascribing a thing or especially an action to a person or other thing as its agent, source, or explanation.
Examples of assign in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assign.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb and Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French assigner , from Latin assignare , from ad- + signare to mark, from signum mark, sign
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing assign
- pre - assign
Dictionary Entries Near assign
Cite this entry.
“Assign.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assign. Accessed 24 Aug. 2024.
Kids Definition
Kids definition of assign, legal definition, legal definition of assign.
Legal Definition of assign (Entry 2 of 2)
More from Merriam-Webster on assign
Nglish: Translation of assign for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of assign for Arabic Speakers
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Online Language Dictionaries
| '; audChoice = audChoice.replace(/ selected=["']selected["']/gm, '');var audT = document.getElementById('audT');if ((audT) && (audPref)) { //Parse the content if(audPref.indexOf(':') > -1) { var audPrefAccent = audPref.split(':')[0]; var playbackRate = audPref.split(':')[1]; } else { var audPrefAccent = audPref; var playbackRate = 1; } var re = new RegExp('( UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/əˈsaɪnmənt/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/əˈsaɪnmənt/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ə sīn mənt) | | | | | | | WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024 as•sign•ment n. [ ] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024 as•sign•ment mənt),USA pronunciation n. See assign, -ment 1350–1400 obligation, job. See /əˈsaɪnmənt/ n ' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , , , , , , , , a [position, work] assignment, is on [a special, an undercover] assignment, was [given, sent on] a special assignment, Forum discussions with the word(s) "assignment" in the title: Go to page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks. In other languages: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Definition of assign verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Definitions on the go Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app. 
Vocabulary lists containing assignationJay Aubrey Jones pronounced more than 36,000 words for Vocabulary.com (including laurel ). Here are some of the most esoteric. See if you can spell them while listening to the dulcet tones of Jay's voice!  In this exposé, award-winning journalist Eric Schlosser explores the effects of the American fast food industry on global health, labor conditions, and the environment.  Colson Whitehead's novel follows Cora, an enslaved woman, as she travels north in search of freedom. Infused with a hint of magical realism, this harrowing and groundbreaking book won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Sign up now (it’s free!)Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.. 
Meaning of assign in EnglishYour browser doesn't support HTML5 audio assign verb [T] ( CHOOSE )
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics: assign verb [T] ( SEND )
assign verb [T] ( COMPUTING )
assign verb [T] ( GIVE LEGALLY )Phrasal verb, assign | intermediate english, assign | business english, examples of assign, translations of assign. Get a quick, free translation!  Word of the Day out of harm's way in a position that is safe from harm or from which harm cannot be done  Trial, judge, and jury: talking about what happens when a criminal is caught  Learn more with +Plus
To add assign to a word list please sign up or log in. Add assign to one of your lists below, or create a new one. {{message}} Something went wrong. There was a problem sending your report. Words and phrasesPersonal account.
Institutional accessSign in with library card Sign in with username / password Recommend to your librarian Institutional account managementSign in as administrator on Oxford Academic assignation noun
What does the noun assignation mean?There are 11 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun assignation , four of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. assignation has developed meanings and uses in subjects including Entry statusOED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised. How common is the noun assignation ?
How is the noun assignation pronounced?British english, where does the noun assignation come from. Earliest known use Middle English The earliest known use of the noun assignation is in the Middle English period (1150—1500). OED's earliest evidence for assignation is from before 1400, in Coventry Mysteries . assignation is a borrowing from French. Etymons: French assignacion . Nearby entries
Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content. Meaning & usePronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for assignation, n.. assignation, n. was first published in 1885; not yet revised. assignation, n. was last modified in June 2024. Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into assignation, n. in June 2024. Earlier versions of this entry were published in: OED First Edition (1885)
OED Second Edition (1989)
Please submit your feedback for assignation, n. Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose. Citation detailsFactsheet for assignation, n., browse entry. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IMAGES
COMMENTS
As nouns the difference between assignment and assignation. is that assignment is the act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks while assignation is an appointment for a meeting, generally of a romantic or sexual nature.
The term assignation brings to mind secret or romantic meetings. It can also mean the act of assigning something. Meanwhile, assignment is about giving out tasks, duties, or responsibilities. This is common in school or work. Assignation and assignment have different uses. Assignation suggests secrecy and is linked with private meetings.
An assignment is a task given to a specific person or group to complete.It can also mean the act of assigning.In some legal fields it can refer to the transferring of ownership of property. An assignation is the act of assigning or the actual assignment.But it also means a secret rendezvous for lovers, most especially for affairs or illicit relationships.
The meaning of ASSIGNATION is the act of assigning or the assignment made. How to use assignation in a sentence. the act of assigning or the assignment made; an appointment of time and place for a meeting; especially : tryst…
ASSIGNATION definition: 1. a meeting that is secret or not allowed, especially one between two people having a romantic…. Learn more.
The meaning of ASSIGNMENT is the act of assigning something. How to use assignment in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Assignment.
ASSIGNATION meaning: 1. a meeting that is secret or not allowed, especially one between two people having a romantic…. Learn more.
ASSIGNMENT meaning: 1. a piece of work given to someone, typically as part of their studies or job: 2. a job that…. Learn more.
1 [countable, uncountable] a task or piece of work that someone is given to do, usually as part of their job or studies You will need to complete three written assignments per semester. She is in Greece on an assignment for one of the Sunday newspapers. one of our reporters on assignment in China I had given myself a tough assignment. a business/special assignment
Assignation definition: an appointment for a meeting, especially a lover's secret rendezvous.. See examples of ASSIGNATION used in a sentence.
Assignment definition: something assigned, as a particular task or duty. See examples of ASSIGNMENT used in a sentence.
assign: [verb] to transfer (property) to another especially in trust or for the benefit of creditors.
assignment: 1 n an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor) Types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher writing assignment , written assignment an assignment to write something classroom project a school task requiring considerable ...
See assignation in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Check pronunciation: assignation. Nearby words. assiduously adverb; assign verb; assignation noun; assignment noun; assimilate verb; array. noun . From the Word list. Oxford 5000. C1. Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day.
Students are required to complete all homework assignments. You will need to complete three written assignments per semester. a business/special assignment ; I had set myself a tough assignment. on an assignment She is in Greece on an assignment for one of the Sunday newspapers. on assignment one of our reporters on assignment in China
assignment - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. All Free.
3 meanings: 1. a secret or forbidden arrangement to meet, esp one between lovers 2. the act of assigning; assignment 3. law,.... Click for more definitions.
ASSIGNMENT definition: 1. a piece of work given to someone, typically as part of their studies or job: 2. a job that…. Learn more.
to give somebody something that they can use, or some work or responsibility. assign something (to somebody) The teacher assigned a different task to each of the children. The two large classrooms have been assigned to us.
Assignment (law) Assignment[ a] is a legal term used in the context of the laws of contract and of property. In both instances, assignment is the process whereby a person, the assignor, transfers rights or benefits to another, the assignee. [ 1] An assignment may not transfer a duty, burden or detriment without the express agreement of the ...
An assignation is a secret meeting. You might have an assignation with your new girlfriend if the two of you were keeping your relationship private.
ASSIGN meaning: 1. to give a particular job or piece of work to someone: 2. If you assign a time for a job or…. Learn more.
There are 11 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun assignation, four of which are labelled obsolete. See 'Meaning & use' for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. assignation has developed meanings and uses in subjects including. economics and commerce (Middle English) law (late 1500s) coins and banknotes (early 1700s)