unity

unity, solidarity, integrity, union can all denote a combining of all the parts, elements, or individuals into an effective whole, or the property or character of the whole achieved by such a combining.

Unity is the comprehensive term applicable to wholes formed either of persons or of things; it may characterize such diverse things as a people, a nation, a church, an association, or a natural or artificial structure (as the human body or a cathedral) or a work of art (as a drama, an epic, a painting, or a bas-relief). In every case it implies oneness, especially of what is varied or diverse rather than uniform in its elements, that is gained by the interdependence of parts or individuals and by the cooperation of all so that each within its proper limits helps in effecting the end of the whole

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the indispensable unity of a beautiful design— Alexander

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the wish to impose order upon confusion, to bring harmony out of dissonance and unity out of multiplicity is a kind of intellectual instinct, a primary and fundamental urge of the mind— Huxley

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Unity often implies a oneness of spirit that results in a group of persons when there is harmony and concord

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what he sought was unity of sentiment, not an unfeatured uniformity, and he attained it— Buchany}

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Solidarity denotes a kind of unity in a group (as a class, a community, or an institution) which enables it to show its strength, express its opinion, or exert its influence both through individuals and through the whole with the force of an undivided mass; the term implies unwillingness in individuals or in subgroups to go counter to the interests, aspirations, or will of the group as a whole

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one secret of their power is their mutual good understanding .... They have solidarity, or responsibleness, and trust in each other— Emerson

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instead of national solidarity following the war, we have only a revival of Know-Nothingism; one faction of hyphenates tries to exterminate another faction— Mencken

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the Mingotts had not proclaimed their disapproval aloud: their sense of solidarity was too strong— Wharton

Integrity is used chiefly in reference to wholes that have been built up so that each stands as a thing marked by completeness and a unity dependent on the perfection of its parts and their mutual interdependence; the term usually stresses soundness, undividedness, or freedom from impairment

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guarantee the integrity of the British Empire forever— Upton Sinclair

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the integrity, the clean drive and the unforced power that distinguishes the good "primitive" novel— Morton

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Union is the general term for the act of uniting several things to form a whole or for the body or organization which results from such a uniting

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the union of thirteen states to form the United States

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However the term can carry the deeper implications of a thorough integration of parts and of their harmonious cooperation

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such harmony alone could hold all Heaven and Earth in happier union— Milton

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the union, peace and plenty of the kingdom— Clarendon

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thanks to . . . God, who has restored union to my family— Scott

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Analogous words: identification, incorporation, embodiment, assimilation (see corresponding verbs at IDENTIFY): cooperation, concurrence, uniting, combining (see corresponding verbs at UNITE): integration, concatenation, articulation (see under INTEGRATE)