relationship

American  

[ri-lay-shuhn-ship] / rɪˈleɪ ʃənˌʃɪp /

noun

• relationships
  plural

1. a connection, association, or involvement.

   Synonyms:

   kinship, alliance, dependence

2. connection between persons by blood or marriage.

   Synonyms:

   consanguinity, affinity

3. an emotional or other connection between people.

   the relationship between teachers and students.

4. a sexual involvement; affair.

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relationship British  

/ rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪp /

noun

1. the state of being connected or related

2. association by blood or marriage; kinship

3. the mutual dealings, connections, or feelings that exist between two parties, countries, people, etc

   a business relationship

4. an emotional or sexual affair or liaison

5. logic maths another name for relation

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Synonym Usage

Relationship, kinship refer to connection with others by blood or by marriage. Relationship can be applied to connection either by birth or by marriage: relationship to a ruling family. Kinship generally denotes common descent and implies a more intimate connection than relationship: the ties and obligations of kinship.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prerelationship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• relationships
  plural

Etymology

Origin of relationship

First recorded in 1735–45; relation + -ship

Explanation

When you're in a relationship, you're emotionally involved or at least connected in some way. If you're related to somebody — your parents, your aunts and uncles, your cousins — you share a family relationship with them. You can also use relationship to describe dealings between various groups, as “Members of the European Union have a relationship of economic interconnectedness,” or “A lease helps define your relationship with your landlord.” You'll also see relationship used with interactions that don't directly involve people. In many of these cases, the word relation is better. For example, in the sentence "We are always looking at the relationship between ticket price and sales," it would be better to use relation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

relationship relationships

And yet it was the performance perhaps more than the result that appeared to win fans over again and reset the relationship between supporter and head coach.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

The situation is exacerbated by wrestling’s employer-employee relationship.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

Carrey officially confirmed their relationship during an emotional speech at the 51st César Awards in Paris in February.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Before parents and guardians can claim the account, they’ll have to verify their identity and relationship to the child.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

She and Bobby both realized that living alone gave him more time to study according to his own time and pace, but Ginzburg’s negative interpretation of their relationship was totally incorrect.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

"Some of those growing relationships, such as Canada's rapidly expanding relationship with the EU, could produce real dividends," she added.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Follow-up with new tenants should come from partnerships with the county’s Departments of Public Health and Mental Health, she said, and her experience and relationships with those departments will be key.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Google researchers have worried internally about how Gemini models have fueled user delusions and advised about social relationships in a way that amplifies slights and overpraises, which can be dangerous for children.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Reclaim human intimacy: As A.I. makes inroads into all aspects of society, are chatbots damaging our capacity to maintain relationships with real people?

From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026

“Just be careful of forming close relationships, Craig. Focus on yourself.”

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Related Words

• accord
• affair
• communication
• contact
• exchange
• liaison
• link
• marriage
• rapport
• relation
• tie