relative

1 of 2

noun

rel·​a·​tive ˈre-lə-tiv How to pronounce relative (audio)
1
: a word referring grammatically to an antecedent
2
: a thing having a relation to or connection with or necessary dependence on another thing
3
a
: a person connected with another by blood or affinity
b
: an animal or plant related to another by common descent
4
: a relative term

relative

2 of 2

adjective

1
: introducing a subordinate clause qualifying an expressed or implied antecedent
a relative pronoun
also : introduced by such a connective
a relative clause
2
: relevant, pertinent
matters relative to world peace
3
: not absolute or independent : comparative
the relative isolation of life in the country
4
: having the same key signature
used of major and minor keys and scales
5
: expressed as the ratio of the specified quantity (such as an error in measuring) to the total magnitude (such as the value of a measured quantity) or to the mean of all the quantities involved

Examples of relative in a Sentence

Noun At the family reunion, I saw relatives I haven't seen in years. He inherited a small piece of land from a distant relative. The donkey is a relative of the horse. Adjective the relative value of two houses the relative positions of the islands We discussed the relative merits of each school. “Who,” “whom,” “whose,” “which,” and “that” are all relative pronouns. The phrase “that won” in “the book that won” is a relative clause.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Drexel Mack is survived by his fiancé, Janelle Ruffin, who has three children, and his son Drexel Mack Jr., 19, who lives in Miami near other relatives. Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 2 Mar. 2024 Apes–including humans and chimpanzees–are all primates who do not have long tails like lemurs and our other monkey relatives. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 Feb. 2024 The tax filings included falsified W2s, including nonexistent charity donations, nonexistent college attendance, and fictitious relatives, according to the release. Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Feb. 2024 His terrified mother called relatives back home, who reassured her that every other neighbor, cousin and son carried bullet fragments in their flesh. Rozina Ali, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 At the scene of the rail crash in Tempi, central Greece, relatives of the victims gathered for a memorial service as churches across the country tolled their bells 57 times Wednesday morning to honor the dead. Derek Gatopoulos and Costas Kantouris, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024 An editor with Radio Liberty-Radio Free Europe, she was arrested in the fall after traveling from her base in Prague to visit relatives in Russia. Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Messages left with a possible relative of Miller were not immediately returned. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 21 Feb. 2024 Horan declined to share details about the relative. Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 20 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The premier’s news conference, held at the end of the NPC since the 1980s and one of the few moments of relative openness in the Communist system, has been canceled this year. Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 Alibaba’s backing brings the startup out of relative secrecy and helps establish its credentials alongside more public outfits such as Zhipu and Baichuan. Jane Zhang, Fortune Asia, 5 Mar. 2024 The debt for the relative ease of Berti’s job is owed to the winery’s founder, Piero Palmucci, whose team did extensive research into which clones of Sangiovese are best suited to this estate in the southeast of Montalcino and to Claudio Tipa, who took over the winery in 2011. Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2024 Because of the relative positions of the sun and moon, there are craters around the south pole whose bottoms have never seen sunlight. David W. Brown, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Each of the 1,200 mainstream vehicles the ACEEE evaluates is given an overall Green Score that can be used to compare the relative environmental friendliness – or unfriendliness as the case may be – from one model to another. Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 My relative talks over me and doesn’t listen, so conversation is difficult. Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 Reasons for property value increases, Willard said, include shortages of available housing, relative affordability within the Kansas City metro and more desirability to live in some neighborhoods. Bill Lukitsch, Kansas City Star, 29 Feb. 2024 Key Background Movie and television screens have been hit with franchise works, remakes, sequels or other films based on existing IP for decades, and their relative success has seen studios like Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. lean into the idea of continuing what works. Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'relative.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of relative was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near relative

Cite this Entry

“Relative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relative. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

relative

1 of 2 noun
rel·​a·​tive ˈrel-ət-iv How to pronounce relative (audio)
1
: a word referring grammatically to one that comes before it
2
: a person connected with another by blood or marriage

relative

2 of 2 adjective
1
a
: introducing a subordinate clause that qualifies an expressed or implied antecedent
relative pronoun
b
: introduced by a word having such an antecedent
relative clause
2
: relevant, pertinent
questions relative to the topic
3
: existing in comparison to something else
the relative value of two houses
4
: having the same key signature
used of major and minor keys and scales
relativeness noun

Legal Definition

relative

adjective
rel·​a·​tive
1
: not absolute
2
in the civil law of Louisiana : having or allowing some legal effect
a relative impediment
a relative simulation
see also relative nullity at nullity
relatively adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on relative

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