relationship
Americannoun
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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
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the state of being connected or related
-
association by blood or marriage; kinship
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the mutual dealings, connections, or feelings that exist between two parties, countries, people, etc
a business relationship
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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 senior White House official said Trump had a strong relationship with Netanyahu and praised Israel for helping the U.S. blunt Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Called to testify, Franco’s daughter Adriana denied she was ever in a relationship with Quintero, even after Quintero’s lawyer confronted her with photographs of the two arm in arm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The singer accused the hackers of violating the "sacred relationship that exists between her and her fans" and is suing for invasion of privacy, violation of California computer hacking laws, and conversion.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
"After going on several blind dates, I met my current husband at the end of August, and we started a serious relationship in mid-September," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Chase’s relationship with Tomás was not much better, but theirs was a language problem.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Grandparenting also can bring lots of stress when adult children are faltering as parents, when grandparents are unable to have expected interactions and relationships with grandchildren or when grandchildren have severe emotional or physical problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“In addition, such outcomes could weaken Delaware Life’s regulatory relationships and damage its reputation, which could erode its competitive position,” S&P said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Reproductive goals counseling should be developmentally appropriate and designed to help adolescents reflect on their future aspirations related to relationships, childbearing, and family formation.”
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
As of June 30 this year, the app had 16,000 registered members -- whittled down from around 36,000 applicants -- and 760 couples in "serious relationships", according to government data released this month.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
But I guess the principal didn’t want to look like he was encouraging relationships between us and them.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
