1
as in interaction
doings between individuals or groups
relations between the rival newspapers remained friendly despite their competition for the same stories
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sex
sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis
a law that prohibits relations between close relatives
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of relations
And Japan needs to balance relations with China, its largest economic partner, too.
—
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
With aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relations, my mother and I listened to the prayers.
—Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Tending to relations and keeping the peace at home may be competing for your attention.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
This follows the nomination earlier this month of former Christie’s executive Carly Murphy as Art Basel’s new global head of collector and institutional relations, another signal of the growing diversity and sophistication of the fair’s potential audience.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, India and China relations continue to make strides.
—Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2025
Canada is looking to reset relations with China after years of contention, as Ottawa’s trade spat with Washington worsens.
—J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Macroscopes are well-suited to take in data from elaborate systems, identify patterns through analysis, and reveal vital relations that might be obscured by that system’s size and complexity.
—Big Think, 27 Oct. 2025
Smith's journalism focuses on Taiwan-China relations, local politics, as well as science and technology developments in the greater China region.
—Eryk Michael Smith, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
With aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relations, my mother and I listened to the prayers.
—Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Tending to relations and keeping the peace at home may be competing for your attention.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
This follows the nomination earlier this month of former Christie’s executive Carly Murphy as Art Basel’s new global head of collector and institutional relations, another signal of the growing diversity and sophistication of the fair’s potential audience.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, India and China relations continue to make strides.
—Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2025
Canada is looking to reset relations with China after years of contention, as Ottawa’s trade spat with Washington worsens.
—J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Macroscopes are well-suited to take in data from elaborate systems, identify patterns through analysis, and reveal vital relations that might be obscured by that system’s size and complexity.
—Big Think, 27 Oct. 2025
Smith's journalism focuses on Taiwan-China relations, local politics, as well as science and technology developments in the greater China region.
—Eryk Michael Smith, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relations
Noun
-
Her primary areas of study are hunter-gather societies, technological change, and human-material interactions most broadly.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Oct. 2025
-
There, interactions between streams of liquid iron generate a magnetic field one quintillion times more powerful than that of an ordinary lab magnet (but thousands of times weaker than the Sun’s).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The World Ultimate Athletics Championships, which debut next September (as a finals-only global, international competition), are excluding men’s triple jump and women’s hammer throw, as well as shot put and discus for both sexes.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Ironically, stiff upper lips seem to have almost vanished as both sexes burst into tears if anything either lovely or lousy happens to them.—
Jilly Cooper,
Vogue,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There are alignments of anemia with some of the early modern symptoms of green sickness—though very few people today are likely to think anemia is caused by a blockage of bodily humors curable by intercourse.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
27 Sep. 2025
-
One 2024 survey found that about 60 percent of college students reported having had vaginal intercourse; a 2022 Pew Research survey reported that more than half of all adults under 30 were in a relationship at the time.—
Molly Langmuir,
The Atlantic,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
To combat the spread of the flies, the USDA disperses sterile flies into the area to stop the mating, a scientific method known as sterile insect technique (SIT).—
Lori Ann LaRocco,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Since these ticks are parthenogenetic, meaning an individual female can lay eggs without mating, essentially cloning herself, male ticks are rare.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Relations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relations. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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