as in cousin
a person connected with another by blood or marriage
it's always fun to see all your relatives at a big family gathering
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in comparative
being such only when compared to something else
after being crammed into a one-bedroom apartment, they lived in relative comfort in a two-bedroom house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in relevant
having to do with the matter at hand
I don't need the whole story, just the details that are relative to the case
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of relative
Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
So many people had been arrested that a major police station was allocated for families seeking missing relatives.
—Davood Moradian, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 27 Jan. 2026
Behind Staubach, Dallas cruised through the playoffs with relative ease and throttled Miami in the Super Bowl, capturing the first championship in team history.
—R.j. Coyle, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relative
Noun
After he was arrested in the woods near the club and taken into custody, Meuse told police that he’d been invited to the party by a relative despite on-going conflicts with some of the other attendees.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
So many people had been arrested that a major police station was allocated for families seeking missing relatives.
—Davood Moradian, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Ye released the statement in advance of a forthcoming album, Bully, which is expected to be released soon, and which follows nearly a year of relative silence.
—Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 27 Jan. 2026
Behind Staubach, Dallas cruised through the playoffs with relative ease and throttled Miami in the Super Bowl, capturing the first championship in team history.
—R.j. Coyle, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relative
Noun
-
For the foreseeable future, rap’s crown now resides in the West, where Kendrick’s focus this year will be presumably on his cousin and pgLang labelmate Baby Keem.—
Angel Diaz,
Billboard,
27 Jan. 2026
-
This creates the tip of the iceberg of the film’s most audacious idea — that the musical, which is set to feature Meg’s cousin in the role of the shooter, might actually want to explore what was going on inside him.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Research shows that people often engage in what psychologists call comparative guilt.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Thanks to audio production’s lower costs and comparative simplicity, once Williams and Storrie signed on, things moved quickly.—
Kase Wickman,
Vanity Fair,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Good readers scan text, skip ahead, go back a few paragraphs or pages, and nimbly pick out relevant sections.—
Ryan Craig,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Starpower is a currency that goes a long way, as brands race to claim Hollywood heavyweights and hot young things, curating an envoy of beautiful, young, relevant people who are said to represent the brand’s interests and values.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Sarah is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Trump’s pressure campaign urging Ukraine to accept borders redrawn by a revanchist Russia had already strained relations between his inner circle and Europe’s far-right movements.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
At the center of this movement is OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, whose generative AI models represent a general-purpose capability—comparable to the steam engine or electric motor—that can amplify nearly every form of knowledge work.—
Phil Kafarakis,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This is where our downturn resilience framework is applicable.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Below is a running list of restaurants and bars we've been told are open, along with their adjusted hours, if applicable.—
Matthew Odam,
Austin American Statesman,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That also means its almost time for clocks to fall back.—
Dina Kaur,
AZCentral.com,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Orange County has paid more than $39 million worth of settlements in the almost year since the Airport fire broke out and destroyed more than 100 structures, according to county officials.—
Michael Slaten,
Oc Register,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Relative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relative. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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