Affiliations (4)
I believe the answer is:
ties
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">affiliations</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">('tie' can be a synonym of 'affiliation')</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for ties that I've seen before include "Attaches, knots" , "Links" , "obligations" , "Connects" , "allegiances" .)