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RELATIVITY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The quality of being relative and having significance only in relation to something else
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("relativity" is a kind of...):
quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)
Derivation:
relative (estimated by comparison; not absolute or complete)
relative (properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by 'to')
relativistic (of or relating to the philosophical doctrine of relativism)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts
Synonyms:
Einstein's theory of relativity; relativity; relativity theory; theory of relativity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("relativity" is a kind of...):
scientific theory (a theory that explains scientific observations)
Domain category:
natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)
Domain member category:
event (a phenomenon located at a single point in space-time; the fundamental observational entity in relativity theory)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relativity"):
Einstein's general theory of relativity; general relativity; general relativity theory; general theory of relativity (a generalization of special relativity to include gravity (based on the principle of equivalence))
Einstein's special theory of relativity; special relativity; special relativity theory; special theory of relativity (a physical theory of relativity based on the assumption that the speed of light in a vacuum is a constant and the assumption that the laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems)
Derivation:
relativistic (relating or subject to the special or the general theory of relativity)
Context examples:
The disk is so deeply embedded in the black hole's intense gravitational field that the light from the gas disk is modified, according to Einstein’s theories of relativity, giving astronomers a unique look at the dynamic processes close to a black hole.
(Hubble Uncovers Black Hole Disk that Shouldn't Exist, NASA)
