relationship
Americannoun
-
relationships
plural
-
a connection, association, or involvement.
- Synonyms:
- kinship, alliance, dependence
-
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
-
the state of being connected or related
-
association by blood or marriage; kinship
-
the mutual dealings, connections, or feelings that exist between two parties, countries, people, etc
a business relationship
-
an emotional or sexual affair or liaison
-
logic maths another name for relation
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
A legal representative for Wonder, 76, did not comment and did not clarify the singer’s reported relationship with Efferson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Young people are saying, ‘Let’s go see an A24 movie,’” said David Permut, who produced A24’s psychosexual relationship comedy “The Invite.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
So, for now, the visit may have possibly helped get the relationship back on track, but whether that translates into a trade agreement or a lasting shift in energy ties remains to be seen.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
In addition, Betancourt had developed a good relationship with Rodríguez, whom Trump had backed as the country’s interim president.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
Whereas visual vocabulary tends to be more detailed, we lack nuanced conceptual words to describe sound and our relationship to it.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The semiconductor market is more competitive now than before, he noted, and the company’s close financial relationships with some of its customers could come back to bite it.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Mass Effect in particular is regarded as having a long-lasting influence on the video game industry thanks to its ambitious narrative and inclusion of same-sex relationships.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The fines appear to be sending a message that relationships between coaches, game officials and players need to be more civil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
"The fires occur in Indonesia, but the ownership, financing and commercial relationships extend across borders," Yang told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
She tilted the screen toward the boy and read aloud: “‘Intimate relationships among senior citizens can improve physical and mental health.’”
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
