athenaeum vs society

athenaeum and society both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
athenaeum	Yes	No	No	No
society	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, society is a hypernym of athenaeum; that is, society is a word with a broader meaning than athenaeum:

athenaeum: a literary or scientific association for the promotion of learning
society: a formal association of people with similar interests

Other hypernyms of athenaeum include club, gild, guild, lodge, order, social club.

athenaeum (noun)	society (noun)
a place where reading materials are available	an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
a literary or scientific association for the promotion of learning	a formal association of people with similar interests
	the fashionable elite
	the state of being with someone