related
Americanadjective
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associated; connected.
- Synonyms:
- affiliated, relevant
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allied by nature, origin, kinship, marriage, etc.
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narrated, recounted, or told.
There were two eyewitnesses, but their related accounts were completely different.
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Music. (of chords, scales, or tones) having a close harmonic or melodic connection.
adjective
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connected; associated
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connected by kinship or marriage
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(in diatonic music) denoting or relating to a key that has notes in common with another key or keys
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of related
Explanation
Things are related when there's some connection or similarity between them. The fact that you caught a cold might be related to the fact that the kids you babysat sneezed and coughed all night long. People are related when they share a family connection, and other things are related by different kinds of connections. One poem is related to another if they come from the same school or movement of poetry, and a boy's dislike of baseball is probably related to the fact that his first coach yelled a lot. The verb relate is at the root of related, from the Latin relatus, "brought back."
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.
District Judge Lewis Liman, is related specifically to costs associated with Baldoni’s defamation suit and is based on a California statute enacted to protect people who speak out against sexual harassment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
A related consideration is how monetary policy should interact with fiscal policy in an era of a structurally large federal deficit.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
Researchers have long sought to create a related phenomenon known as nonreciprocal quantum synchronization.
From Science Daily • Jun. 12, 2026
The Justice Department declined to comment on the criminal subpoenas or any related investigation.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
“In my opinion, it should have been the hyena. Don’t look like that, Little Pumpkin. I’m sure you aren’t related to hyenas.”
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
