relational

adjective re·la·tion·al \ ri-ˈlā-shnəl , -shə-nᵊl \

Updated on: 18 May 2018

Definition of relational

1 : of or relating to kinship

2 : characterized or constituted by relations

3 : having the function chiefly of indicating a relation of syntax

has is notional in he has luck, relational in he has gone

4 : relating to, using, or being a method of organizing data in a database so that it is perceived by the user as a set of tables

—

relationally

adverb

Recent Examples of relational from the Web

And Sybase was troubled at the time and was a relational database company looking for the next chapter, so to speak.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: BlackBerry CEO John Chen on Recode Decode," 19 Apr. 2018
Among other accomplishments, the school’s strong relational trust-building and restorative practices have significantly reduced suspension rates.

— valerie strauss, Washington Post, "Here are eight ‘Schools of Opportunity’ that do extraordinary things for students," 22 Jan. 2018
Richmond is a relational town, and both Republicans and Democrats have been counting on widespread personal affection for Northam to ease political gridlock.

— Washington Post, "That was quick: Va. Republicans say new governor is off to a bad start," 6 Mar. 2018
Ocient, a company building a relational database and analytics software platform for petabyte- to exabyte-scale data sets, raised $10 million in Series A funding.

— polina marinova, Fortune, "Term Sheet -- Wednesday, March 7," 7 Mar. 2018
It’s more about recognizing and acknowledging boys’ natural emotional and relational skills, and encouraging those traits whenever possible.

— melissa dahl, The Cut, "7 Insights From Social Science on Raising a Boy," 5 Mar. 2018
Remember the wisdom in finding relational dynamics that have both the best of friendship and romance.

— colin bedell, Cosmopolitan, "Your Horoscope for the Week of March 5," 4 Mar. 2018
Individuals who are inclined toward caring, instructive relational work could be driven away from this militarized environment.

— valerie strauss, Washington Post, "What happens to teaching and learning if educators holster 9mm Glocks on their waistband?," 22 Feb. 2018
Women's leadership is relational and transformational.

— grant segall, cleveland.com, "Fran Bisselle, one of 15 blended sibs, leads our longest-running prep school for girls: My Cleveland (photos)," 11 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'relational.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of relational

1662

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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relationally

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