relation

American  

[ri-ley-shuhn] / rɪˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an existing connection; a significant association between or among things.

   the relation between cause and effect.

   Synonyms:

   link, tie, relationship

   Antonyms:

   independence

2. relations,

   1. the various connections between peoples, countries, etc..

      foreign relations.

   2. the various connections in which persons are brought together.

      business and social relations.

   3. sexual intercourse.

3. the mode or kind of connection between one person and another, between an individual and God, etc.

4. connection between persons by blood or marriage.

   Synonyms:

   kinship, relationship

5. a person who is related by blood or marriage; relative.

   his wife's relations.

6. the act of relating, narrating, or telling; narration.

   Synonyms:

   description, recital, recitation

7. Law. a principle whereby effect is given to an act done at one time as if it had been done at a previous time.

8. Mathematics.

   1. a property that associates two quantities in a definite order, as equality or inequality.

   2. a single- or multiple-valued function.

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idioms

1. in / with relation to, with reference to; concerning.

   It's best to plan with relation to anticipated changes in one's earnings.

relation British  

/ rɪˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the state or condition of being related or the manner in which things are related

2. connection by blood or marriage; kinship

3. a person who is connected by blood or marriage; relative; kinsman

4. reference or regard (esp in the phrase in or with relation to )

5. the position, association, connection, or status of one person or thing with regard to another or others

6. the act of relating or narrating

7. an account or narrative

8. law the principle by which an act done at one time is regarded in law as having been done antecedently

9. law the statement of grounds of complaint made by a relator

10. logic maths

    1. an association between ordered pairs of objects, numbers, etc, such as … is greater than …

    2. the set of ordered pairs whose members have such an association

11. philosophy

    1. a relation that necessarily holds between its relata, as 4 is greater than 2

    2. a relation that does not so hold

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relation More Idioms  

1. see poor relation; relative (in relation) to.

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Other Word Forms

• nonrelation
  noun
• prerelation
  noun
• relationless
  adjective
• subrelation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of relation

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English relacion, from Latin relātiōn-, stem of relātiō “a carrying back, narration, repayment”; equivalent to relate + -ion

Explanation

Relation is a word that can describe a connection — between relatives or any two entities. You might consider your cousin as your relation, and you might have strained relations with him over your grandmother's estate. The way that one thing affects another is their relation like the relation between childhood poverty and poor nutrition, for example. You can also call your relative a relation, as when you describe your great-grandfather as your oldest living relation. The phrase no relation means that even though two people share the same last name, they are not related — or aren't relations.

Example Sentences

Dr David Roblin, chief executive of London-based biotechnology company Relation Therapeutics, told the BBC that the fundamentals that drove MSD to invest in the UK in the first place had not changed.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025

The restrictions will take offline nearly half the country’s usual rice exports this year, said Ashok Gulati of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relation.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 20, 2023

Her thesis, “The Negro Woman Domestic Worker in Relation to Trade Unionism,” marked the beginning of her interest in community organizing.

From Washington Post • Sep. 9, 2022

In 1852, the Mormon-dominated territorial legislature passed a law innocuously called “An Act in Relation to Service.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 19, 2020

The most obvious two are similarity and contrast: Coherence Relation Example Typical Connectives Similarity Herons live in the and, similarly, likewise, northern United States. too Herons live in most of Canada.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• relationship