The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

associate v. 1 associate (with). a ally with, link, join or unite
(with), combine or confederate (with), connect (with), conjoin
(with): In the 1930s Abe was associated with Dutch and Louis in
Murder, Incorporated. I always associate him with fast cars and
hard drinking. b see, be seen with, socialize or fraternize
(with), mix or mingle (with), go (out) with, consort with, have
to do with, Colloq hang out with, Brit pal with or about, pal up
(with), US pal around (with): Mother told me not to associate
with boys who use that kind of language.
--n. 2 colleague, partner; fellow, fellow-worker: I'd like you
to meet my associate, Ian Lindsay. 3 confederate, ally,
collaborator; accomplice, accessory: He and his associates have
been sent to prison for conspiracy. 4 comrade, companion,
friend, mate, buddy; confidant(e): We have been close
associates for many years.
--adj. 5 subsidiary, secondary: She is an associate professor
at an American university. 6 allied, affiliate, affiliated,
associated; accessory: Publication is under the direction of an
associate company.
association
n. 1 society, organization, confederation, confederacy,
federation, league, union, alliance, guild, coalition, group;
syndicate, combine, consortium, cooperative: The society later
became known as the British Association for the Advancement of
Science. 2 connection, link, affiliation, relationship, bond,
tie, linkage, linking, pairing, joining, conjunction, bonding:
The association between princes and frogs is probably lost on
anyone so literal-minded. 3 fellowship, intimacy, friendship,
camaraderie, comradeship, relationship: There has been a
long-standing association between Peter and Wendy.
assortment
n. 1 group, class, category, batch, set, lot, classification,
grouping: Which assortment contains only plain chocolates? 2
collection, pot-pourri, mixture, m‚lange, array, agglomeration,
conglomeration, medley, farrago, variety, miscellany, jumble,
salmagundi, gallimaufry, mishmash, Colloq mixed bag: That hat
looks like something from the assortment at a jumble sale. A
bizarre assortment of people attended the meeting.