relates

present tense third-person singular of relate
1
as in communes
to form a close personal relationship she and I relate so well it's almost like we're siblings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
3
as in pertains
to have a relation or connection how does your comment relate to what the rest of us have been talking about for the last hour?

Synonyms & Similar Words

4
as in associates
to think of (something) in combination most Americans probably relate tea to the United Kingdom and coffee to the U.S.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of relates But by then, Rockmount’s shirts were iconic, Weil relates in his third book about Western apparel and Rockmount. Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 8 June 2026 Silence = Death, the work of the Silence = Death Collective (and not ACT UP, as Avram Finkelstein relates in his interview) became the primary pictorial representation of ACT UP and a rallying slogan for the fight against the disease. Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 3 June 2026 Jill Biden relates the 2019 primary debate in which Harris got headlines for challenging Biden for his vote four decades earlier on using busing to desegregate schools. Susan Page, USA Today, 30 May 2026 McQuail relates social constructionism’s influences on media studies first to the theories of propaganda and ideology and second to critical theory. Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 May 2026 Bastian relates that Delta collected $9 billion, more than four times the number in 2014, and though Amex doesn’t break out its revenues from the co-brand, the Delta experience suggests it’s scored a moonshot. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 9 May 2026 In the epilogue to the book, Olson relates a story about how an influencer named Lyla Biggs posted a video on TikTok right before Black Friday in 2023 featuring the company’s Casey low-rise baggy jeans in the Astrid wash. Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 8 May 2026 Author Daniel Kraus won in the fiction category for his book Angel Down, a story of World War I soldiers who find a fallen angel amongst the dead in No Man's Land - a tale Kraus relates entirely within one sentence. Neda Ulaby, NPR, 4 May 2026 But Ohm later relates his story, meant to finish up a trilogy, to Fiona (Florence Ordesh), who tends bar at the Bilberry Woods Hotel in Ireland, where the author has traveled to spread his parents’ ashes. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 1 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relates
Verb
  • The narrator and his wife find that their attachment to the charismatic and cryptic Chibi grows with the cat’s increasing visits, in a way that bewilders them but somehow bonds them closer together.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
  • The Pennsylvania native made her TV acting debut on the HBO hit as Faye, the adrift addict who bonds with Fezco (the late Angus Cloud) and later Rue (Zendaya), after previously establishing herself in adult films, with creator Sam Levinson casting her directly.
    David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026
Verb
  • What These Treatments Actually Cost At the mass-market end, Restore Hyper Wellness describes itself as the largest direct-to-consumer wellness provider in the country, with more than 200 studios nationwide as of May 2026.
    Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 16 June 2026
  • In this installment, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer describes living in Venice while completing his latest novel Villa Coco.
    Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 June 2026
Verb
  • This story pertains only to women.
    Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
  • The recall pertains to some 2021-2026 Bronco Sport and 2022-2026 Maverick vehicles.
    Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 3 June 2026
Verb
  • The third vessel, for example, contains circular discs symbolizing water, which Chan associates with rebirth.
    Anthony DeMarco, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
  • In practical terms, that means Forest now associates humans with food and safety, the opposite of what a wild deer needs to survive.
    Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The adaptation of Georgy Demidov’s eponymous novel, set in the Soviet Union in 1937 during Stalin’s Great Purge, tells the story of a young local prosecutor and dedicated communist who starts to question his undying faith in the regime.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2026
  • Neither tells you whether the result was any good.
    Mark Hull, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • This article was generated by the CA Earthquake Bot, software that analyzes structured information, such as data, and applies it to articles based on templates created by journalists in the newsroom.
    CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 18 June 2026
  • The same also applies to players from other smaller soccer nations.
    Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • YouTube has built likeness detection technology that automatically identifies when an artist’s likeness is being used without permission.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 18 June 2026
  • Meanwhile, a PwC survey identifies efficiency and technology as top priorities for family offices globally.
    Andy Busser, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • Now, a week after Hockney’s death, Brooks recounts their trip and reveals the photos for the first time.
    Christopher Anderson, Vanity Fair, 18 June 2026
  • In Grandfather’s Chair, an old man recounts stories from American history through the experiences of his trusty oaken chair, which has seen it all.
    John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Relates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relates. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.

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