Meaning & Definition of Relative in English
English⟶
Relative
/rɛlətɪv/
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"
synonym:
- relative,
- relation
2. An animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)
synonym:
- relative,
- congener,
- congenator,
- congeneric
adjective
1. Estimated by comparison
- Not absolute or complete
- "A relative stranger"
synonym:
- relative,
- comparative
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"
synonym:
- proportional,
- relative
Examples of using
Everything in life is relative.
Tom is a distant relative of mine.
Tom is a close relative of mine.