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Definition of relative
From the M-W Editors
Examples of relative in a Sentence
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.
Recent Examples of relative from the Web
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His stepdad, who then lived in Bardstown, also was listed as a relative on the application at MTA School, a truck-driving training business in Commerce City, Colorado.
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Make no mistake: My relatives were hardly calling for me or anyone else to drop out of school or get bad grades.
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The historical marker is located on the Mississippi Freedom Trail, which is outside of the grocery store where Till was accused of whistling at a white woman while visiting his relatives in Mississippi.
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None of Williams' relatives recognized them and a fight broke out.
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Hummingbirds are great fliers, but their closest relatives—the swifts—are even better, and while hummingbird eggs are symmetrical, swift eggs are pointed, more like pine nuts than Tic Tacs.
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Harmoni Harton, 8, was wounded by gunfire while eating pizza with her grandparents in their Gary home when a bullet penetrated the house, relatives said.
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An aunt of Martinez Torres, who declined to be identified and was at court, said the family is shocked and mystified about charges against their relative.
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In recent days, Ms. Kelly contacted relatives of Sandy Hook victims about appearing on her segment about Mr. Jones; several declined, although Neil Heslin, whose son died in the massacre, granted an interview.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'relative'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of relative
14th century
Other Genetics Terms
relative
Definition of relative
1 : introducing a subordinate clause qualifying an expressed or implied antecedent a relative pronoun; also : introduced by such a connective a relative clause
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
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 of relative from the Web
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Having contact with a friend, relative or associate who might be suspect.
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Later, the relative discovered that every home in the neighborhood had received the same flier.
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Both the Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford situations involved offering outsized returns relative to the markets and/or investments being provided.
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The family described Hannah as thoughtful and caring, the kind of child who bought a necklace for a relative and notepads for Aldaz's two granddaughters, one of whom was Hannah's age.
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Of the 20 cities in the index, the weakest gain was in New York City_an area where home prices are already high relative to median incomes.
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Many economists pointed out that, considering all the likely effects of the BAT, the U.S. dollar would increase in value relative to the currencies of countries that have been exporting to us.
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Sending a friend or relative to speak with the charge nurse could help.
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These include the Emotion API image analysis tool that can identify the emotion expressed by faces in photos, assigning relative probabilities to anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'relative'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of relative
15th century
RELATIVE Defined for English Language Learners
relative
playDefinition of relative for English Language Learners
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: a member of your family
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: something that belongs to the same group as something else because of shared characteristics, qualities, etc.
relative
Definition of relative for English Language Learners
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: compared to someone or something else or to each other
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: seeming to be something when compared with others
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grammar : referring to a noun, a part of a sentence, or a sentence that was used earlier
RELATIVE Defined for Kids
Definition of relative for Students
: a person connected with another by ancestry or marriage
Law Dictionary
relative
Legal Definition of relative
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
adverbLearn More about relative
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for relative Spanish Central: Translation of relative Nglish: Translation of relative for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of relative for Arabic speakers
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