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noun
1.
a person who is connected with another or others by blood or marriage.
2.
something having, or standing in, some relation to something else.
3.
4.
adjective
5.
considered in relation to something else; comparative: the relative merits of democracy and monarchy.
6.
existing or having its specific nature only by relation to something else; not absolute or independent: Happiness is relative.
7.
having relation or connection.
8.
having reference or regard; relevant; pertinent (usually followed by to): to determine the facts relative to an accident.
9.
EXPANDcorrespondent; proportionate: Value is relative to demand.
10.
(of a term, name, etc.) depending for significance upon something else: “Better” is a relative term.
11.
COLLAPSEGrammar.
a.
noting or pertaining to a word that introduces a subordinate clause of which it is, or is a part of, the subject or predicate and that refers to an expressed or implied element of the principal clause (the antecedent), as the relative pronoun who in He's the man who saw you or the relative adverb where in This is the house where she was born.
b.
noting or pertaining to a relative clause.
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Relative
is always a great word to know.
So is caret. Does it mean:
| one of two marks « or » used in French, Italian, and Russian printing to enclose quotations. |
| a mark (‸) made in written or printed matter to show the place where something is to be inserted. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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|
Link To RELATIVE
Collins
World English Dictionary
| relative (ˈrɛlətɪv) | |
| —adj (foll by to) | |
| 1. | having meaning or significance only in relation to something else; not absolute: a relative value |
| 2. | (prenominal) Compare absolute (of a scientific quantity) being measured or stated relative to some other substance or measurement: relative humidity; relative density |
| 3. | (prenominal) comparative or respective: the relative qualities of speed and accuracy |
| 4. | in proportion (to); corresponding (to): earnings relative to production |
| 5. | having reference (to); pertinent (to): matters not relative to the topic under discussion |
| 6. | grammar demonstrative Compare interrogative denoting or belonging to a class of words that function as subordinating conjunctions in introducing relative clauses. In English, relative pronouns and determiners include who, which, and that |
| 7. | grammar denoting or relating to a clause (relative clause) that modifies a noun or pronoun occurring earlier in the sentence |
| 8. | (of a musical key or scale) having the same key signature as another key or scale: C major is the relative major of A minor |
| —n | |
| 9. | a person who is related by blood or marriage; relation |
| 10. | a relative pronoun, clause, or grammatical construction |
| [C16: from Late Latin relātīvus referring] | |
| 'relativeness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
relative
1388, "a relative pronoun," from O.Fr. relatif (13c.), from L.L. relativus "having reference or relation," from L. relatus, pp. of referre "to refer." Meaning "person in the same family" first recorded 1657; the adj. is attested from 1530. Relatively "in relation to something else" is recorded from 1561.
EXPANDRelativism in philosophy first recorded 1865 (relativist is from 1863).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
RELATIVE definition
Early system on IBM 650. Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959).
Word Dynamo Rating For Relative
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