relationship
Americannoun
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a connection, association, or involvement.
- Synonyms:
- kinship, alliance, dependence
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connection between persons by blood or marriage.
- Synonyms:
- consanguinity, affinity
-
an emotional or other connection between people.
the relationship between teachers and students.
-
a sexual involvement; affair.
noun
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the state of being connected or related
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association by blood or marriage; kinship
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the mutual dealings, connections, or feelings that exist between two parties, countries, people, etc
a business relationship
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an emotional or sexual affair or liaison
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logic maths another name for relation
Related Words
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
- prerelationship noun
Etymology
Origin of relationship
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.
Vocabulary lists containing relationship
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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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.
On Tuesday, the two sides strengthened their relationship by creating a new joint committee of six commanders to oversee a joint force.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
The relationship between the two countries' leaders has in recent weeks shown signs of strain over the Middle East.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Nvidia and the quantum industry have had a rocky relationship.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
The Wall Street Journal published a feature on Earle, writing that the relationship between the influencer and her podcast network had unraveled.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Chase’s relationship with Tomás was not much better, but theirs was a language problem.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
