relative

English

Etymology

From Latin relativus, from relatus, perfect passive participle of referre (to carry back, to ascribe), from re- (again) + ferre (to bear or carry)

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Adjective

relative (not comparable)

  1. Connected to or depending on something else; not absolute; comparative.
    • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, BBC Sport:
      For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.
  2. (computing, of a URL, URI, path, or similar) Expressed in relation to another item, rather than in complete form.
    The relative URL /images/pic.jpg, when evaluated in the context of http://example.com/docs/pic.html, corresponds to the absolute URL http://example.com/images/pic.jpg.
  3. (grammar) That relates to an antecedent.
  4. (music) Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.
  5. Relevant; pertinent; related.
    relative to your earlier point about taxes, ...

Antonyms

Derived terms

  • relative to

Translations

Noun

relative (plural relatives)

  1. Someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption.
    Why do my relatives always talk about sex?
  2. (linguistics) A type of adjective that inflects like a relative clause, rather than a true adjective, in certain Bantu languages.

Synonyms

Translations

Related terms

See also

Anagrams


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Danish

Adjective

relative

  1. definite and plural of relativ

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Esperanto

Adverb

relative

  1. relatively

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French

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁəlativ/

Adjective

relative f

  1. feminine form of relatif

Anagrams


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German

Adjective

relative

  1. inflected form of relativ

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Italian

Adjective

relative pl

  1. feminine form of relativo

Anagrams


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Latin

Adjective

relātīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of relātīvus

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Swedish

Adjective

relative

  1. absolute definite natural masculine form of relativ.
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Last modified on 20 May 2013, at 20:17