| Library / English Dictionary |
RELATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("relation" is a kind of...):
abstract entity; abstraction (a general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relation"):
change (a relational difference between states; especially between states before and after some event)
oppositeness; opposition (the relation between opposed entities)
comparison (relation based on similarities and differences)
temporal relation (a relation involving time)
interrelatedness; interrelation; interrelationship (mutual or reciprocal relation or relatedness)
reciprocality; reciprocity (a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence)
business relation (a relation between different business enterprises)
control (a relation of constraint of one entity (thing or person or group) by another)
magnitude relation; quantitative relation (a relation between magnitudes)
family relationship; kinship; relationship ((anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption)
affinity; kinship (a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character)
component; component part; constituent; part; portion (something determined in relation to something that includes it)
linguistic relation (a relation between linguistic forms or constituents)
unconnectedness (the lack of a connection between things)
connectedness; connection; connexion (a relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it))
foundation (the basis on which something is grounded)
mathematical relation (a relation between mathematical expressions (such as equality or inequality))
logical relation (a relation between propositions)
association (a relation resulting from interaction or dependence)
function (a relation such that one thing is dependent on another)
human relationship; relationship (a relation between people; ('relationship' is often used where 'relation' would serve, as in 'the relationship between inflation and unemployment', but the preferred usage of 'relationship' is for human relations or states of relatedness))
causality (the relation between causes and effects)
ownership (the relation of an owner to the thing possessed; possession with the right to transfer possession to others)
position; spatial relation (the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated)
social relation (a relation between living organisms (especially between people))
possession (anything owned or possessed)
Derivation:
relate (make a logical or causal connection)
relate (be in a relationship with)
relationship (a relation between people; ('relationship' is often used where 'relation' would serve, as in 'the relationship between inflation and unemployment', but the preferred usage of 'relationship' is for human relations or states of relatedness))
relationship ((anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption)
relationship (a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection))
Sense 2
Meaning:
(usually plural) mutual dealings or connections among persons or groups
Example:
international relations
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("relation" is a kind of...):
dealings; traffic (social or verbal interchange (usually followed by 'with'))
Domain usage:
plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)
Derivation:
relate (have or establish a relationship to)
relate (be in a relationship with)
relationship (a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties or countries)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Sexual activity between individuals, especially the insertion of a man's penis into a woman's vagina until orgasm and ejaculation occur
Synonyms:
carnal knowledge; coition; coitus; copulation; intercourse; relation; sex act; sexual congress; sexual intercourse; sexual relation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("relation" is a kind of...):
sex; sex activity; sexual activity; sexual practice (activities associated with sexual intercourse)
Meronyms (parts of "relation"):
insemination (the introduction of semen into the genital tract of a female)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relation"):
criminal congress; unlawful carnal knowledge (forbidden or tabu sexual intercourse between individuals)
penetration (the act (by a man) of inserting his penis into the vagina of a woman)
hank panky (illicit sexual intercourse)
ass; fuck; fucking; nookie; nooky; piece of ass; piece of tail; roll in the hay; screw; screwing; shag; shtup (slang for sexual intercourse)
defloration (the act of depriving a woman of her virginity (especially by rupturing the hymen through sexual intercourse))
Sense 4
Meaning:
(law) the principle that an act done at a later time is deemed by law to have occurred at an earlier time
Example:
his attorney argued for the relation back of the amended complaint to the time the initial complaint was filed
Synonyms:
relation; relation back
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("relation" is a kind of...):
judicial doctrine; judicial principle; legal principle ((law) a principle underlying the formulation of jurisprudence)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Sense 5
Meaning:
An act of narration
Example:
his endless recounting of the incident eventually became unbearable
Synonyms:
recounting; relation; telling
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("relation" is a kind of...):
narration; recital; yarn (the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events)
Derivation:
relate (give an account of)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A person related by blood or marriage
Example:
he has distant relations back in New Jersey
Synonyms:
relation; relative
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("relation" is a kind of...):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relation"):
better half; married person; mate; partner; spouse (a person's partner in marriage)
sib; sibling (a person's brother or sister)
second cousin (a child of a first cousin of one's parent)
issue; offspring; progeny (the immediate descendants of a person)
next of kin (the person who is (or persons who are) most closely related to a given person)
kissing cousin; kissing kin (a more or less distant relative; familiar enough to be greeted with a kiss)
kinswoman (a female relative)
kinsman (a male relative)
agnate; patrikin; patrilineal kin; patrilineal sib; patrisib (one related on the father's side)
enate; matrikin; matrilineal kin; matrilineal sib; matrisib (one related on the mother's side)
family; kin; kinsperson (a person having kinship with another or others)
blood relation; blood relative; cognate; sib (one related by blood or origin; especially on sharing an ancestor with another)
in-law; relative-in-law (a relative by marriage)
descendant; descendent (a person considered as descended from some ancestor)
cousin; cousin-german; first cousin; full cousin (the child of your aunt or uncle)
ancestor; antecedent; ascendant; ascendent; root (someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent))
Holonyms ("relation" is a member of...):
clan; kin; kin group; kindred; kinship group; tribe (group of people related by blood or marriage)
Derivation:
relationship (a relation between people; ('relationship' is often used where 'relation' would serve, as in 'the relationship between inflation and unemployment', but the preferred usage of 'relationship' is for human relations or states of relatedness))
relationship ((anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption)
relationship (a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection))
Context examples:
The standing of a concept in relation to currently accepted classifications and concepts.
(Concept Status, NCI Thesaurus)
An indication or description of the start of a clinical event in relation to a specific point in time.
(Clinical Events Start Relative to Reference Timepoint, NCI Thesaurus)
She is the natural daughter of nobody knows whom, with probably no settled provision at all, and certainly no respectable relations.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Circle the one number that describes how, during the past week, pain has interfered with your relations with other people.
(BPI - Pain Interfered with Relations, NCI Thesaurus)
Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI Short Form) Circle the one number that describes how, during the past 24 hours, pain has interfered with your relations with other people.
(BPI Short Form - Pain Interfered with Relations, NCI Thesaurus)
But where were my friends and relations?
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
“As to the King,” said he, “of course, I am l’ami de famille there; and even with you I can scarce speak freely, as my relations are confidential.”
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Would it not seem dangerous to you to make so very close a relation between the two incidents?
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
On the other hand, it's very likely to make my relations with Ruth's family a trifle awkward.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
During my long and intimate acquaintance with Mr. Sherlock Holmes I had never heard him refer to his relations, and hardly ever to his own early life.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
