relationship

American  

[ri-ley-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

With the city’s relationship with its main fundraising partner gone, an L.A County grand jury report suggested the city find a new private-public partnership to keep the zoo afloat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

During his two-year stint in Australia, Yamagami had a notably frosty relationship with some members of Albanese's Labor Party over disagreements regarding China.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

As the court in Barbara explained, birthright citizenship launches a reciprocal relationship between a person and the sovereign.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

They would sometimes drift in the same direction, but the relationship was loose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

If Bobby had any trepidation about permanently severing his relationship with the United States, there was no evidence of it in the renunciation he wrote.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

The art of subtlety and nuance and true compassion and care for real-life people and real relationships is not a performance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

The fossil primarily preserves parts of the limbs, and at first glance, this type of material may seem limited, but it carries important information about the animal’s locomotion and evolutionary relationships.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

That could decrease the value of their relationships with Nvidia, the analysts added, which may make it even more difficult to compete with SpaceX.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

Ask them about their interests, their life, their relationships, their favorite book.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

I tried to build relationships with the people I met, especially those who didn’t normally have access to the world I now inhabited.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

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