Definitions for relative
ˈrɛl ə tɪvrel·a·tive

Princeton's WordNet(2.86 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. relative, relationnoun

   a person related by blood or marriage

   "police are searching for relatives of the deceased"; "he has distant relations back in New Jersey"

2. relative, congener, congenator, congenericadjective

   an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)

3. relative, comparativeadjective

   estimated by comparison; not absolute or complete

   "a relative stranger"

4. proportional, relativeadjective

   properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by `to'

   "the punishment ought to be proportional to the crime"; "earnings relative to production"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. relativenoun

   Someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption.

2. relativeadjective

   Relevant; pertinent

3. relativeadjective

   Connected to or depending on something else; not absolute; comparative.

4. relativeadjective

   That relates to an antecedent

5. relativeadjective

   Having the same key but differing in being major or minor

6. Etymology: From relativus, from relatus, perfect passive participle of refero, from re- + fero

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Relativeadjective

   Etymology: relativus, Lat. relatif, Fr.

   1. Having relation; respecting.

   Not only simple ideas and substances, but modes are positive beings; though the parts of which they consist, are very often relative one to another. John Locke.

   2. Considered not absolutely, but as belonging to, or respecting something else.

   The ecclesiastical, as well as the civil governour, has cause to pursue the same methods of confirming himself; the grounds of government being founded upon the same bottom of nature in both, though the circumstances and relative considerations of the persons may differ. South.

   Every thing sustains both an absolute and a relative capacity: an absolute, as it is such a thing, endued with such a nature; and a relative, as it is a part of the universe, and so stands in such relation to the whole. South.

   Wholesome and unwholesome are relative, not real qualities. John Arbuthnot, on Aliments.

   3. Particular; positive; close in connection. Not in use.

   I’ll have grounds
   More relative than this. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

2. Relativenoun

   1. Relation; kinsman.

   ’Tis an evil dutifulness in friends and relatives, to suffer one to perish without reproof. Taylor.

   2. Pronoun answering to an antecedent.

   Learn the right joining of substantives with adjectives, and the relative with the antecedent. Roger Ascham, Schoolmaster.

   3. Somewhat respecting something else.

   When the mind so considers one thing, that it sets it by another, and carries its view from one to the other, this is relation and respect; and the denominations given to positive things, intimating that respect, are relatives. John Locke.

Webster Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Relativeadjective

   having relation or reference; referring; respecting; standing in connection; pertaining; as, arguments not relative to the subject

2. Relativeadjective

   arising from relation; resulting from connection with, or reference to, something else; not absolute

3. Relativeadjective

   indicating or expressing relation; refering to an antecedent; as, a relative pronoun

4. Relativeadjective

   characterizing or pertaining to chords and keys, which, by reason of the identify of some of their tones, admit of a natural transition from one to the other

5. Relativenoun

   one who, or that which, relates to, or is considered in its relation to, something else; a relative object or term; one of two object or term; one of two objects directly connected by any relation

6. Relativenoun

   a person connected by blood or affinity; strictly, one allied by blood; a relation; a kinsman or kinswoman

7. Relativenoun

   a relative pronoun; a word which relates to, or represents, another word or phrase, called its antecedent; as, the relatives "who", "which", "that"

8. Etymology: [F. relatif, L. relativus. See Relate.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Relative

   rel′a-tiv, adj. having relation: respecting: not absolute or existing by itself: considered as belonging to something else: (gram.) expressing relation.—n. that which has relation to something else: a relation: (gram.) a pronoun which relates to something before, called its antecedent.—adj. Relatī′val (or Rel′atival).—adv. Rel′atively.—ns. Rel′ativeness, Relativ′ity.—Relativity of human knowledge, the doctrine that the nature and extent of our knowledge is determined not merely by the qualities of the objects known, but necessarily by the conditions of our cognitive powers.

The Standard Electrical Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Relative

   Indicating the relation between two or more things without reference to absolute value of any one of them. Thus one lamp may be of relatively double resistance compared to another, but this states nothing of the resistance in ohms of either lamp.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. relative

   The bearing of a target measured in the horizontal from the bow of one

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. relative

   A person connected by marriage or form of family relationship.

   We are all family together on this planet united working to achieve human rights, sustainable development goals and shared prosperity for everyone.

   Submitted by MaryC on April 1, 2020  

2. relative

   Being connected or related.

   The data received was relative to the understanding of what is currently occurring and we all understand what is required to be changed to ensure the output is changed.

   Submitted by MaryC on April 12, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Person

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'relative' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2553

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'relative' in Nouns Frequency: #1223

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'relative' in Adjectives Frequency: #342

Anagrams for relative »

1. levirate

How to pronounce relative?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say relative in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of relative in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of relative in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of relative in a Sentence

1. Aaron Clark:

   Sentiment is clearly on edge and I think the market's move has been outsized, relative to actual changes in fundamentals, i think it's more of a growth scare which is getting magnified by the moves in financial markets.

2. Elizabeth Dickinson:

   The UAE and Saudi Arabia have allied with distinct Yemeni partners ... Yet to this point in the conflict, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh have worked to maintain a relative detente between competing interests in the south, that is the approach again today.

3. Simon French:

   We know that the economics of happiness is largely driven by a relative assessment of your position versus your benchmark.

4. Jim Jordan:

   There are a number of things that she said that are just false based on the investigation Mr. Comey conducted relative to her testimony under oath to us last October.

5. Glass Lewis:

   We have strong concerns regarding pay outcomes relative to financial performance and investor outcomes in respect of the past fiscal year, in particular, we note that bonus payouts to the executive directors were at 100 percent of maximum opportunity despite the lacklustre overall performance during fiscal year 2015.

Popularity rank by frequency of use