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

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Etymology

Origin of relationship

First recorded in 1735–45; relation + -ship

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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

“We became melded, and he has never left me . . . He has always been there, and it’s a relationship that I am happy to continue with.”

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

Rachel says it was the start of her rebuilding a "wonderful" relationship with her mum.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

I’ve been in some form of a romantic relationship since my teens, some healthier than others.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

Investigators believed the woman, Alice Huang, was recruited based on her relationship with Jensen Huang.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

One mistake, disagreement, or mistimed appointment on the part of a friend was enough for Bobby to sever a relationship.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

“When an attack happens, those relationships need to work in minutes, not days,” Chen says in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

You are making sure you dignify those relationships, in your own way.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

"But the closer these relationships are, the harder it is for one to assess true sustainable demand."

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

Schoenbrun’s talent for image-making, however, ends up shouldering much of that weight, letting intricate ideas about identity and personal relationships to digital media sit gracefully atop beautifully rendered cinematography.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026

The Raleigh accent is soft and beautifully cadenced, but my brother's is a more complex hybrid, informed by his professional relationships with marble-mouthed, deep-country work crews and his abiding love of hard-core rap music.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

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Related Words

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

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