RELATES Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

relates

verb

present tense third-person singular of relate

as in communes

to form a close personal relationship she and I relate so well it's almost like we're siblings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in describes

to give an oral or written account of in some detail we asked our uncle to relate the story of his visit to communist Russia many years ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in pertains

to have a relation or connection how does your comment relate to what the rest of us have been talking about for the last hour?

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in associates

to think of (something) in combination most Americans probably relate tea to the United Kingdom and coffee to the U.S.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of relates Eisman relates that Elon Musk plans to make money from ventures that only exit in the fictional world. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 June 2026 But by then, Rockmount’s shirts were iconic, Weil relates in his third book about Western apparel and Rockmount. — Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 8 June 2026 Silence = Death, the work of the Silence = Death Collective (and not ACT UP, as Avram Finkelstein relates in his interview) became the primary pictorial representation of ACT UP and a rallying slogan for the fight against the disease. — Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 3 June 2026 Jill Biden relates the 2019 primary debate in which Harris got headlines for challenging Biden for his vote four decades earlier on using busing to desegregate schools. — Susan Page, USA Today, 30 May 2026 McQuail relates social constructionism’s influences on media studies first to the theories of propaganda and ideology and second to critical theory. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 May 2026 In the epilogue to the book, Olson relates a story about how an influencer named Lyla Biggs posted a video on TikTok right before Black Friday in 2023 featuring the company’s Casey low-rise baggy jeans in the Astrid wash. — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 8 May 2026 Author Daniel Kraus won in the fiction category for his book Angel Down, a story of World War I soldiers who find a fallen angel amongst the dead in No Man's Land - a tale Kraus relates entirely within one sentence. — Neda Ulaby, NPR, 4 May 2026 But Ohm later relates his story, meant to finish up a trilogy, to Fiona (Florence Ordesh), who tends bar at the Bilberry Woods Hotel in Ireland, where the author has traveled to spread his parents’ ashes. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 1 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for relates

Verb

Once there, Emily bonds with four other counselors — played by Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis and Ella Reece — who begin to explore their witchy reality together.

— William Earl, Variety, 26 June 2026
Every one of these chips, Jalapeño included, depends on Taiwan Semiconductor for advanced fabrication and the specialized packaging that bonds compute and memory into a single working part.

— Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

Definition of bonds

Verb

Starting next month, the law will prohibit the sale of any food product that isn’t labeled with either phrase — this pertains to products manufactured on or after July 1, 2026.

— Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026
The arguments stem from a pretrial motion in which Judge Weeks directed that testimony be limited to only what pertains to the charge at hand, involving the retaliation against James Saulter.

— Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2026

Definition of pertains

Verb

The two-time Oscar winner, who was born in Concord and grew up in the East Bay, associates that sign with some of his favorite Bay Area childhood memories.

— Randy Myers, Mercury News, 15 June 2026
The third vessel, for example, contains circular discs symbolizing water, which Chan associates with rebirth.

— Anthony DeMarco, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026

Definition of associates

Verb

Knowing that a visitor asked three questions about security, spent time on your enterprise plan and then left without booking a demo tells you everything about what to do next.

— Suyash Karn, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
The film, directed by award-winning filmmaker Bao Nguyen, in part tells the story of how CEO Matt Mullenweg founded what became Automattic, a company rooted in the philosophy of open-source software.

— Todd Spangler, Variety, 8 July 2026

Definition of tells

Verb

This article was generated by the CA Earthquake Bot, software that analyzes structured information, such as data, and applies it to articles based on templates created by journalists in the newsroom.

— CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
The planning commission applies the law during its approval process.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026

Definition of applies

Verb

Boyd identifies the Airbus A220 and A320, along with the Embraer E175 and E190, as models with economy seats that are eighteen and even nineteen inches across.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 10 July 2026
Rather than working through every possible scenario, conduct an environmental scan that identifies events that could materially impact performance.

— Jim DeLoach, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of identifies

Verb

Caught between two opposing cultures, drawing on a cache of letters, documents, and remembrances, Ferrer meticulously recounts the travails of one migrant family and a punitive legal system that dogged them, skewering ideals of equity and fairness.

— Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
Jones recounts Marvin Gay’s funeral, and being at the deathbeds of Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 3 July 2026