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relative
[rel-uh-tiv]
noun
a person who is connected with another or others by blood or marriage.
something having, or standing in, some relation or connection to something else.
something dependent upon external conditions for its specific nature, size, etc. (absolute ).
Grammar., a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb.
adjective
considered in relation to something else; comparative.
the relative merits of democracy and monarchy.
existing or having its specific nature only by relation to something else; not absolute or independent.
Happiness is relative.
having relation or connection.
having reference or regard; relevant; pertinent (usually followed byto ).
to determine the facts relative to an accident.
correspondent; proportionate.
Value is relative to demand.
(of a term, name, etc.) depending for significance upon something else.
“Better” is a relative term.
Grammar.
noting or pertaining to a word that introduces a subordinate clause of which it is, or is a part of, the subject or predicate and that refers to an expressed or implied element of the principal clause (the antecedent), as the relative pronoun who in He's the man who saw you or the relative adverb where in This is the house where she was born.
noting or pertaining to a relative clause.
relative
/ ˈrɛlətɪv /
adjective
having meaning or significance only in relation to something else; not absolute
a relative value
(prenominal) (of a scientific quantity) being measured or stated relative to some other substance or measurement Compare absolute
relative humidity
relative density
(prenominal) comparative or respective
the relative qualities of speed and accuracy
in proportion (to); corresponding (to)
earnings relative to production
having reference (to); pertinent (to)
matters not relative to the topic under discussion
grammar denoting or belonging to a class of words that function as subordinating conjunctions in introducing relative clauses. In English, relative pronouns and determiners include who, which, and that Compare demonstrative interrogative
grammar denoting or relating to a clause ( relative clause ) that modifies a noun or pronoun occurring earlier in the sentence
(of a musical key or scale) having the same key signature as another key or scale
C major is the relative major of A minor
noun
a person who is related by blood or marriage; relation
a relative pronoun, clause, or grammatical construction
Other Word Forms
- relativeness noun
- nonrelative noun
- nonrelatively adverb
- nonrelativeness noun
- unrelative adjective
- unrelatively adverb
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of relative1
Idioms and Phrases
it’s all relative. it's all relative.
Example Sentences
Setting his alarm for 5:30 in the morning, he’d wake his father and they would go for a 1½-mile run to a relative’s home for workouts before running back.
During the peace process, Tony Blair's government set up another inquiry, after campaigning by bereaved relatives, who said Widgery had been a whitewash.
Despite Colombia's military successes against armed groups, and its recent years of relative stability and security, some analysts doubt whether Plan Colombia truly resolved the drug problem in the long term.
In the square leading to the cenotaph, relatives and friends have written the names and ages of the disaster's 57 victims in red paint.
His tribe revolted against Islamic State’s authority in 2014 but was put down with a campaign of shootings and beheadings that left hundreds dead, including some of his relatives.
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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.
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