Conurbation

noun (countable)

/ˌkɒnɜːˈbeɪʃən/

An extensive, continuously built-up urban area formed by the expansion and merging of several neighbouring cities or towns that retain their separate identities.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Unplanned migration and the relentless outward spread of metropolitan India have fused Delhi with Gurugram, Noida and Faridabad into a sprawling conurbation, where the absence of an integrated metropolitan governance authority leaves transport, water and waste management fragmented across competing municipal jurisdictions.

Synonyms

metropolismegalopolisurban agglomerationmetropolitan areaurban sprawlmegacity

Antonyms

villagehamletcountrysidehinterland

🌱 Word Family

conurbation (n), conurbations (n pl), urban (adj), urbanise (v), urbanisation (n)

🔡 Root

Latin con- = together + urbs = city + English -ation; coined 1915 by Patrick Geddes

📜 Etymology

Coined in 1915 by Scottish biologist and geographer Patrick Geddes, from Latin con- ("together") + urbs ("city") + the English suffix -ation.

🧠 Memory Hook

Break it as CON + URB + ation - think "URBan areas brought CONjoined together": several cities glued into one continuous urban blob.

👥 Society 📖 Seen in: Population, Urbanisation & Migration —...

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