Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

relation

[ri-ley-shuhn]
See more synonyms for relation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an existing connection; a significant association between or among things: the relation between cause and effect.
  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.
  5. a person who is related by blood or marriage; relative: his wife's relations.
  6. the act of relating, narrating, or telling; narration.
  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.
Show More
Idioms
  1. in/with relation to, with reference to; concerning: It's best to plan with relation to anticipated changes in one's earnings.
Show More

Origin of relation

1350–1400; Middle English relacion < Latin relātiōn- (stem of relātiō). See relate, -ion
Related formsre·la·tion·less, adjectivenon·re·la·tion, nounpre·re·la·tion, nounsub·re·la·tion, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
1. relationship; tie, link. 2a. association. 4. relationship, kinship. 6. recitation, recital, description.

Antonyms

1. independence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

relationshipalliancesimilarityaffiliationkindredpropinquityconsanguinityrelativesiblingliaisonaffinitykinassociationkinship

Examples from the Web for relation

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Who would not be proud of such a relation as Miss Clarissa Harlowe?

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • Mr. Gladstone dwells much on the relation of Homer to Christianity.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

  • In relation to her and her people he seemed to himself a man of power and influence.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • To my mind the two have no more than the relation of the words of a song and the music of its setting.

  • I revert, then, to my statement that God's relation to punishment is chiefly verbal.

British Dictionary definitions for relation

relation

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. internal relationa relation that necessarily holds between its relata, as 4 is greater than 2
    2. external relationa relation that does not so hold
Show More
See also relations

Word Origin

C14: from Latin relātiō a narration, a relation (between philosophical concepts)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for relation

n.

late 14c., "connection, correspondence;" also "act of telling," from Anglo-French relacioun, Old French relacion "report, connection" (14c.), from Latin relationem (nominative relatio) "a bringing back, restoring; a report, proposition," from relatus (see relate). Meaning "person related by blood or marriage" first attested c.1500. Stand-alone phrase no relation "not in the same family" is attested by 1930.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
relation in Medicine

relation

(rĭ-lā′shən)
n.
  1. A logical or natural association between two or more things; relevance of one to another; connection.
  2. The connection of people by blood or marriage; kinship.
  3. A person connected to another by blood or marriage; a relative.
  4. The positional relationship of the teeth or other structures in the mouth.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with relation

relation

see poor relation; relative (in relation) to.

Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.