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relative

re·la·tive

UK/ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv/ US/rɪˈleː.ʈɪʋ/ common us
adjective (2) noun (2)

adjective

1.

not absolute or complete

  • “a relative stranger”
Antonyms
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2.

properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by `to'

  • “the punishment ought to be proportional to the crime”
  • “earnings relative to production”
Synonyms
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noun

1.

a person related by blood or marriage

  • “police are searching for relatives of the deceased”
  • “he has distant relations back in New Jersey”
Synonyms
2.

an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“to carry back, to ascribe”), from re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear or carry”). By surface analysis, relate + -ive.

Phrases

  • blood relative
  • first-degree relative
  • it's all relative
  • linear relative
  • near relative
  • oreille relative
  • relative address
  • relative adjective
  • relative adverb

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.