RELATIVE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does relative mean? 

• RELATIVE (noun)
  The noun RELATIVE has 2 senses:

1. a person related by blood or marriage
2. an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)

  Familiarity information: RELATIVE used as a noun is rare.

• RELATIVE (adjective)
  The adjective RELATIVE has 2 senses:

1. not absolute or complete
2. properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by 'to'

  Familiarity information: RELATIVE used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RELATIVE (noun)

Meaning:

A person related by blood or marriage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

relative; relation

Context examples:

police are searching for relatives of the deceased / he has distant relations back in New Jersey

Hypernyms ("relative" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relative"):

better half; married person; mate; partner; spouse (a person's partner in marriage)

sib; sibling (a person's brother or sister)

second cousin (a child of a first cousin)

issue; offspring; progeny (the immediate descendants of a person)

next of kin (the person who is (or persons who are) most closely related to a given person)

kissing cousin; kissing kin (a more or less distant relative; familiar enough to be greeted with a kiss)

kinswoman (a female relative)

kinsman (a male relative)

agnate; patrikin; patrilineal kin; patrilineal sib; patrisib (one related on the father's side)

enate; matrikin; matrilineal kin; matrilineal sib; matrisib (one related on the mother's side)

family; kin; kinsperson (a person having kinship with another or others)

blood relation; blood relative; cognate; sib (one related by blood or origin; especially on sharing an ancestor with another)

in-law; relative-in-law (a relative by marriage)

descendant; descendent (a person considered as descended from some ancestor or race)

cousin; cousin-german; first cousin; full cousin (the child of your aunt or uncle)

ancestor; antecedent; ascendant; ascendent; root (someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent))

Holonyms ("relative" is a member of...):

clan; kin; kin group; kindred; kinship group; tribe (group of people related by blood or marriage)

Meaning:

An animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

congenator; congener; congeneric; relative

Hypernyms ("relative" is a kind of...):

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

• RELATIVE (adjective)

Meaning:

Not absolute or complete

Context example:

a relative stranger

Similar:

comparative (having significance only in relation to something else)

relational (having a relation or being related)

Antonym:

absolute (perfect or complete or pure)

Meaning:

Properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by 'to'

Synonyms:

proportional; relative

Context examples:

the punishment ought to be proportional to the crime / earnings relative to production

Similar:

proportionate (being in due proportion)