relative
Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.
Adjective 4 meanings
Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.
“We've been discussing the relative merits of various methods of transportation.”
Expressed in relation to another item, rather than in complete form.
Depending on an antecedent; comparative.
“The words “big” and “small” are relative.”
Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.
Noun 3 meanings
Someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption; someone in the same family.
Something kindred or related to something else.
A type of adjective that inflects like a relative clause, rather than a true adjective, in certain Bantu languages.
Etymology
From Middle French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“to carry back, to ascribe”), from re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear or carry”). By surface analysis, relate + -ive.
Similar and opposite words
RELATIVE at a glance
RELATIVE has 8 letters and scores 11 points in Scrabble (R 1 + E 1 + L 1 + A 1 + T 1 + I 1 + V 4 + E 1) and 13 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #3,066 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with relative
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