relatively
Americanadverb
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in a relative manner.
a relatively small difference.
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Archaic.
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with reference (usually followed byto ).
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in proportion (usually followed byto ).
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adverb
Etymology
Origin of relatively
Explanation
Use relatively when you want to make a statement about something compared to something else. After a zero degree day, 30 degrees might feel relatively warm. This adverb has to do with how things stack up next to each other. Relatively speaking, you could say you're tall if you're around very short people, even if you're just five five. Fat free ice cream is relatively healthy compared to other desserts, but it's still ice cream. If you've been sick for a week and you feel relatively better, you're feeling just a little better. This word only makes sense when you're comparing one thing to another.
Vocabulary lists containing relatively
Britain's Finest Hour Speech - Winston Churchill (1940)
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ly
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"Shakespeare's Life"
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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.
With its relatively newer GLP-1 drug, Eli Lilly stands apart from most of the big drugmakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Women are born with all the eggs they will have, and freezing aims to preserve eggs when they are relatively young.
From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026
Measuring animal movement was relatively straightforward, but determining exactly where people were present required a more detailed source of information than scientists normally have access to.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
“We’re setting up for a multi-year recovery because in the past, cycles were shorter, because you had the ability to backfill capacity relatively quickly,” Seidl said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Despite besting twenty-three of the world’s most eminent chess players, though, he remained relatively unimpressed with his performance: “I am satisfied with the result, but not with my play.”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
