relatively

adverb

rel·​a·​tive·​ly ˈre-lə-tiv-lē 

: to a relative degree or extent : somewhat

a relatively small group of people

relatively cool weather

The house is relatively new.

Phrases

relatively speaking

1

: when compared to others that are similar

The procedure was quick, relatively speaking.

Relatively speaking, the movie wasn't bad.

2

—used to say that something is true or correct as a general statement even if it is not entirely true or correct

The trip was, relatively speaking, a disaster.

Synonyms

• enough
• fairly
• kind of
• kindly [chiefly Southern]
• like
• moderately
• more or less
• pretty
• quite
• rather
• something
• somewhat
• sort of

Examples of relatively in a Sentence

these newly acquired in-laws felt relatively comfortable at our family reunion

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the Wall Street Journal, HashiCorp had a market cap of $4.9 billion, making the deal relatively small for IBM and its $170 billion market cap. —Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024

And fortunately, because of the nature of Change’s business, direct impacts to patient care appear to have been limited and resolved relatively quickly. —Erika Fry, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing relatively

• relatively prime
• relatively speaking

Kids Definition

relatively

adverb

rel·​a·​tive·​ly

ˈrel-ət-iv-lē

: somewhat entry 2