relation

[ ri-ley-shuhn ]
See synonyms for relation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an existing connection; a significant association between or among things: the relation between cause and effect.

  2. relations,

    • the various connections between peoples, countries, etc.: foreign relations.

    • the various connections in which persons are brought together: business and social relations.

    • sexual intercourse.

  1. the mode or kind of connection between one person and another, between an individual and God, etc.

  2. connection between persons by blood or marriage.

  3. a person who is related by blood or marriage; relative: his wife's relations.

  4. the act of relating, narrating, or telling; narration.

  5. Law. a principle whereby effect is given to an act done at one time as if it had been done at a previous time.

  6. Mathematics.

    • a property that associates two quantities in a definite order, as equality or inequality.

    • a single- or multiple-valued function.

Idioms about relation

  1. in / with relation to, with reference to; concerning: It's best to plan with relation to anticipated changes in one's earnings.

Origin of relation

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English relacion, from Latin relātiōn-, stem of relātiō “a carrying back, narration, repayment”; equivalent to relate + -ion

Other words for relation

Opposites for relation

Other words from relation

  • re·la·tion·less, adjective
  • non·re·la·tion, noun
  • pre·re·la·tion, noun
  • sub·re·la·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for relation

relation

/ (rɪˈleɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the state or condition of being related or the manner in which things are related

  2. connection by blood or marriage; kinship

  1. a person who is connected by blood or marriage; relative; kinsman

  2. reference or regard (esp in the phrase in or with relation to)

  3. the position, association, connection, or status of one person or thing with regard to another or others

  4. the act of relating or narrating

  5. an account or narrative

  6. law the principle by which an act done at one time is regarded in law as having been done antecedently

  7. law the statement of grounds of complaint made by a relator

  8. logic maths

    • an association between ordered pairs of objects, numbers, etc, such as … is greater than …

    • the set of ordered pairs whose members have such an association

  9. philosophy

    • internal relation a relation that necessarily holds between its relata, as 4 is greater than 2

    • external relation a relation that does not so hold

Origin of relation

1
C14: from Latin relātiō a narration, a relation (between philosophical concepts)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with relation

relation

see poor relation; relative (in relation) to.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.