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

Etymology

Origin of relationship

First recorded in 1735–45; relation + -ship

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

Author Matilda Gosling, who wrote Evidence‑Based Parenting, says many of the parenting fads or trends complicate what should be a straightforward relationship between a parent and child.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

What I hadn’t fully comprehended is how much an ongoing financial advisory relationship would cost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

As the city moves to ban wells and new state laws require buffer zones and plugging idle wells, “the relationship between residential communities and oil drilling operators has been reset,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

The researchers found that the relationship between the stress levels on the two fault systems may be especially important.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

I still don’t quite understand the relationship between her and Dad.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Alexis Yim, a marketing professor at Radford University who co-authored a study on how cuteness impacts relationships with AI agents, said that “cute, appealing appearances” can activate the reward-related areas of the brain.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

I feel like we have those relationships with the artists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Google researchers have worried internally about how Gemini models have fueled user delusions and advised about social relationships in a way that amplifies slights and overpraises, which can be dangerous for children.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Humans can be hard work. Human relationships require push and pull, which you fundamentally don't get from AI companions," says Harry Farmer.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

How do you or others use music to foster relationships with others?

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

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