
Related to relative: Relative term


2. Having pertinence or relevance; connected or related: How are those remarks relative to the discussion?
2. Grammar A relative pronoun.


rel′a·tive·ness n.


2. (prenominal) (of a scientific quantity) being measured or stated relative to some other substance or measurement: relative humidity; relative density. Compare absolute10
3. (prenominal) comparative or respective: the relative qualities of speed and accuracy.
4. (foll by: to) in proportion (to); corresponding (to): earnings relative to production.
6. (Grammar) grammar denoting or belonging to a class of words that function as subordinating conjunctions in introducing relative clauses. In English, relative pronouns and determiners include who, which, and that. Compare demonstrative5, interrogative3
7. (Grammar) grammar denoting or relating to a clause (relative clause) that modifies a noun or pronoun occurring earlier in the sentence
8. (Music, other) (of a musical key or scale) having the same key signature as another key or scale: C major is the relative major of A minor.
10. (Grammar) a relative pronoun, clause, or grammatical construction
[C16: from Late Latin relātīvus referring]
ˈrelativeness n


(ˈrɛl ə tɪv)

1. a person who is connected with another by blood or marriage.
2. something having, or standing in, some relation to something else.
3. something dependent upon external conditions for its specific nature, size, etc. (opposed to absolute).
4. a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb.
5. considered in relation to something else; comparative: the relative merits of gas and electric heating.
7. having relation or connection.
8. having reference; relevant; pertinent (usu. fol. by to): the facts relative to the case.
9. correspondent; proportionate.
10. depending for significance upon something else: “Better” is a relative term.
11. of or designating a word that introduces a subordinate clause and refers to an expressed or implied element of the principal clause: the relative pronoun who in “That was the woman who called”; the relative adverb where in “This is the house where I was born.”
12. (of a musical key) having the same key signature as another key: a relative minor.
[1350–1400; Middle English relatif (n.) (< Middle French) < Late Latin relātīvus (adj.); see relate, -ive]
rel′a•tive•ly, adv.




1. 'relation' and 'relative'

Your relations or relatives are the members of your family.

I said that I was a relation of her first husband.
I'm going to visit some relatives.


Relations between the two men had not improved.
Britain has close relations with the US.
2. 'relationship'


The old relationship between the friends was quickly re-established.


ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.relative - a person related by blood or marriagerelative - a person related by blood or marriage; "police are searching for relatives of the deceased"; "he has distant relations back in New Jersey"
kin group, kindred, kinship group, clan, kin, tribe - group of people related by blood or marriage
ancestor, antecedent, ascendant, ascendent, root - someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
cousin, cousin-german, first cousin, full cousin - the child of your aunt or uncle
descendant, descendent - a person considered as descended from some ancestor or race
in-law, relative-in-law - a relative by marriage
enate, matrikin, matrilineal kin, matrilineal sib, matrisib - one related on the mother's side
agnate, patrikin, patrilineal kin, patrilineal sib, patrisib - one related on the father's side
kinsman - a male relative
kinswoman - a female relative
kissing cousin, kissing kin - a more or less distant relative; familiar enough to be greeted with a kiss
next of kin - the person who is (or persons who are) most closely related to a given person
offspring, progeny, issue - the immediate descendants of a person; "she was the mother of many offspring"; "he died without issue"
second cousin - a child of a first cousin
sib, sibling - a person's brother or sister
2.relative - an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)
Adj.1.relative - estimated by comparison; not absolute or complete; "a relative stranger"
proportionate - being in due proportion; "proportionate representation of a minority group"


1. relation, connection, kinsman or kinswoman, member of your or the family Do relatives of yours still live in Siberia?
1. comparative, considerable, reasonable, moderate, in comparison a period of relative calm
2. corresponding, comparable, respective, comparative, reciprocal, correlative the relative importance of education in 50 countries
3. (with to) in proportion to, corresponding to, proportionate to, proportional to The satellite remains in one spot relative to the earth's surface.
"Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of himself" [H.L. Mencken Prejudices]


1. Estimated by comparison:
2. Determined or to be determined by someone or something else:
A person connected to another person by blood or marriage:
أحد الأقْرِباء، أحد أفراد العائِلَهضَمير الصِّلَهقَريبنِسْبي
ættingií samanburîi viîskyldmennitilvísunar-
họ hàng


1. (= comparative) [safety, peace, comfort, ease] → relativo
her relative lack of experiencesu relativa falta de experiencia
he is a relative newcomeres relativamente nuevo
it's all relativetodo es relativo
in relative termsrelativamente
petrol consumption is relative to speedel consumo de gasolina está en relación con la velocidad
there is a shortage of labour relative to demandhay escasez de trabajadores en relación con la demanda
2. (= respective) the relative merits of the two systemslos méritos de cada uno de los dos sistemas
3. (= relevant) relative torelativo a, concerniente a
the documents relative to the problemla documentación relativa or concerniente al problema
4. (Ling) → relativo
relative clauseoración f subordinada relativa, oración f (subordinada) de relativo
relative pronounpronombre m relativo
5. (Mus) → relativo
B. Npariente mf, familiar mf
friends and relativesamigos mpl y familiares
a close/distant relativeun pariente cercano/lejano


nparent(e) m/f
all her relatives
BUT toute sa famille.
my close relatives → mes proches parents
(= comparative) → relatif/ive
a period of relative calm → une période de calme relatif
relative to sth → relativement à qch
it's all relative → tout est relatif
(= respective) → respectif/ive
the relative merits of London and Paris → les mérites respectifs de Londres et Parisrelative clause n(proposition f) relative f


(= comparative, not absolute, Sci) → relativ; happiness is relativeGlück ist relativ; relative to him, she is in a very happy positionverglichen mit ihm ist sie gut dran; fuel consumption is relative to speedder Benzinverbrauch hängt von der Geschwindigkeit ab; to live in relative luxuryverhältnismäßig or relativ luxuriös leben; with relative easerelativ leicht; in relative termsvergleichsweise, relativ gesehen; it’s all relativees ist alles relativ
(= respective)jeweilig; the relative merits of A and Bdie jeweiligen Verdienste von A und B
(= relevant) relative tosich beziehend auf (+acc)
(Gram) → Relativ-; relative pronoun/clauseRelativpronomen nt/-satz m
(Mus) minor, majorparallel
(= person) = relation a
(Gram: = clause) → Relativsatz m; (= pronoun)Relativpronomen nt


1. adj (comparative) (Gram) → relativo/a; (connected) relative tolegato/a a
the relative merits of X and Y → i meriti rispettivi di X e Y
2. nparente m/f


(rəˈleit) verb
reˈlated adjective
2. connected. other related topics.
reˈlation noun
2. a relationship (between facts, events etc).
reˈlationship noun
relative (ˈrelətiv) noun
relatively (ˈrelətivli) adverb


قَريب příbuzný slægtning Verwandter συγγενής pariente sukulainen parent rođak parente 親戚 친척 familielid slektning krewny parente родственник släkting เครือญาติ göreceli họ hàng 亲戚


1. n. pariente, familiar;
2. gr. pronombre relativo;
a. relativo-a.


n familiar mf, pariente mf; blood — pariente consanguíneo (form), pariente que tiene antepasados en común (con uno); [Note: The RAE lists familiar as masculine only, but feminine usage when referring to females is the norm.]
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