relate
Americanverb (used with object)
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relates,
present (3rd person singular)
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related,
past participle, past
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relating
present participle
verb (used without object)
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relates,
present (3rd person singular)
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related,
past participle, past
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relating
present participle
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to have reference (often followed byto ).
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to have some relation (often followed byto ).
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to establish a social or sympathetic relationship with a person or thing.
two sisters unable to relate to each other.
verb
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(tr) to tell or narrate (a story, information, etc)
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(often foll by to) to establish association (between two or more things) or (of something) to have relation or reference (to something else)
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to form a sympathetic or significant relationship (with other people, things, etc)
Synonym Usage
Relate, recite, recount, rehearse mean to tell, report, or describe in some detail an occurrence or circumstance. To relate is to give an account of happenings, events, circumstances, etc.: to relate one's adventures. To recite may mean to give details consecutively, but more often applies to the repetition from memory of something learned with verbal exactness: to recite a poem. To recount is usually to set forth consecutively the details of an occurrence, argument, experience, etc., to give an account in detail: to recount an unpleasant experience. Rehearse implies some formality and exactness in telling, sometimes with repeated performance as for practice before final delivery: to rehearse one's side of a story.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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relaternoun
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misrelateverb
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prerelateverb (used with object)
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relatableadjective
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unrelatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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relatesimple
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relatessimple
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have relatedperfect
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has relatedperfect
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am relatingprogressive
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are relatingprogressive
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is relatingprogressive
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have been relatingperfect progressive
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has been relatingperfect progressive
Past
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relatedsimple
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had relatedperfect
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was relatingprogressive
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were relatingprogressive
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had been relatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of relate
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin relātus, past participle of referre “to carry back” ( see refer)
Explanation
The verb relate means "to make a connection." If you can relate to someone's story, something like that has happened to you. Relate also means "to give an account of something verbally," like relating details of your trip to Sweden. That meaning of relate comes from the Latin word relatus, meaning "to recount, tell." If you talk about the federal budget crisis, people might not be interested until you relate it, meaning "explain the relationship between," to the possible job cuts at your local schools and police departments.
Vocabulary lists containing relate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Stamp Act (1765)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The study was led by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the UK Dementia Research Institute, who investigated how changes in the brain relate to declining cognitive abilities later in life.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
The Kings wanted to eliminate the star power: “So, how much would it relate to someone who’s just a common person like Olivia is,” Robert said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
To say I can relate would be an understatement.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
He also testified he had "searched" his "files, emails and documents from 2002 to 2004" and had in his "possession no records or documents or other communications that relate to Sibneft-Yugra".
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The boy with my song and the nice headshot passes us and snickers, and finally there’s something here that I can relate to: being laughed at.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
This is something Rodriguez, who is half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, born and raised in the States, also personally relates to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Fitbit data allowed them to compare participants' movement habits with their sleep patterns over time, offering a more detailed picture of how everyday activity relates to sleep quality and next-day mood.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
"We are going into these elections almost blindfolded as it relates to October 7th," he told me during a protest in Tel Aviv last week.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
As Kevin Hartnett relates in “The Proof in the Code,” soon after digital computers became available their creators attempted to put Turing’s proposal to the test.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Many years later, Kepler came upon his third and last law of planetary motion, a law that relates the motion of various planets Kepler’s second law: A planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Such approaches could eventually prove useful for people with sleep disturbances related to metabolic disorders or neurological diseases.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
"No personal data related to our rentals is shared with car manufacturers, our owners or other third parties without explicit legal grounds," he added, without specifying whether the onboard videos may have been transferred.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Because of that potential financial liability, Mejia’s office said that “Angelenos deserve full transparency from LA28 related to all spending and revenue incurred in the process of planning and executing the 2028 Olympic Games.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The letters appear to have been sent to state election offices and related locations, the bureau said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Nhamo, in her turn, related one of Ambuya’s stories.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Melrose Industries said its GKN Aerospace unit reached a $125 million settlement with authorities in California relating to a chemicals case, and that it expects to restart operations at the site this quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
All legal disputes relating to FTX and other shareholders have been settled, according to SWI Group Chief Executive Max-Hervé George.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
“I just knew that it felt real to me. I posted it on TikTok every single day, sometimes twice a day, because I could picture girls singing it with me and relating to that feeling.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
An independent commission held a 42-day hearing in 2024 which led to the verdict announced last month, with City also guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Two weeks previously she had sent a letter relating that she was pursued by a Dane.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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