relatives

plural of relative
as in cousins
a person connected with another by blood or marriage it's always fun to see all your relatives at a big family gathering

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 relatives In 2009, armed men stopped a convoy of civilians, relatives, lawyers and journalists heading to submit election filings in Maguindanao and killed 58 people, at least 32 of them journalists and media workers. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026 Lorah declined to discuss motive but said investigators would talk to other relatives and examine the cellphones of the women who were killed outside the home. — Jacqueline Ganun, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026 The film traces more than 40 years of Iran’s history through Ahangarani’s personal experiences of exile and the stories of her relatives and mentors. — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026 The converted family travel trailer has been transformed into a mobile clinic, giving adolescents a private place to access contraception away from relatives, neighbors, church colleagues or other patients. — ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026 Withholding, delaying, or limiting what particular relatives know can also be an exercise of agency. — Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, data brokers may have phone numbers, email addresses, relatives, previous addresses and other personal information. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The participants include people who have been exposed to the disease in this outbreak, among them health workers and patients' relatives. — Constant Same Bagalwa, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026 Most children in foster care live with families, with relatives or with other foster parents. — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relatives
Noun
  • Most of his cousins have not been able to buy a house or start a family deep into their 30s.
    — Jacqueline Ganun, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The mall brands your older cousins grew up with aren’t just hanging on.
    — Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • China-Japan relations have come under heavy strain since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament in November last year that Japan could get militarily involved in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
    — Anniek Bao,Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Questions remain over how a citizen of Oman, a country which does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, was authorized to co-pilot a plane bound for Tel Aviv, despite Israel’s strict security regulations.
    — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Relatives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relatives. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster