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relation

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relation

  • /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ US, UK
  • /ɹəˈlæ̝ɪʃ(ə)n/ Australia

Rhymes with -eɪʃən

Where it comes from

From Middle English relacion, relacioun, from Anglo-Norman relacioun and Old French relacion (whence French relation), from Latin relātiō, noun of process form from perfect passive participle relātus (“related”), from verb referō (“to refer, to relate”), from prefix re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear, to carry”). By surface analysis, relate + -ion. Doublet of relazione.

noun relations

  1. countable, uncountable The manner in which two things may be associated. The relation between diet and health is complex.

    Similar: connection, link, relationship

  2. countable, uncountable A member of one's extended family; a relative. Yes, he's a relation of mine, but only a distant one.
  3. countable, in plural, uncountable A relationship; the manner in which and tone with which people or states, etc. interact. the foreign relations of the United States
  4. countable, uncountable The act of relating a story. Your relation of the events is different from mine.

    Similar: recounting, tell

  5. countable, uncountable A set of ordered tuples. […]Signs are, first of all, physical things: for example, chalk marks on a blackboard, pencil or ink marks on paper, sound waves produced in a human throat. According to Reichenbach, "What makes them signs is the intermediary position they occupy between an object and a sign user, i.e., a person." F
  6. countable, uncountable A set of ordered pairs; a binary relation. Equality is a symmetric relation, while divisibility is not.
  7. countable, uncountable A set of tuples, implemented as a table in a relational database. This relation uses the customer's social security number as a key.
  8. countable, uncountable A statement of equality of two products of generators, used in the presentation of a group.
  9. countable, uncountable A subobject of a product of objects.
  10. countable, in plural, often, uncountable The act of intercourse. have relations with

Similar: member of one's family, association, bearing, concern, pertinence, reference, relation, relevance, correspondence · Opposite: irrelation

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: congress, relative, recounting, telling, sexual relation, sex act, copulation, intercourse, carnal knowledge, sexual congress, coition, sexual intercourse, coitus, relationship, relating, associated

noun

Similar: member of one's family, association, bearing, concern, pertinence, reference, relation, relevance, correspondence · Opposite: irrelation

Translations

Every language

noun mathematics: set of ordered tuples, a Boolean function of two or more arguments

Españolrelación
한국어관계 gwan'gye
日本語関係 kankei
中文關係 /关系 guānxi
हिन्दीसंबंध sambandh
Portuguêsrelação
Françaisrelation
DeutschRelation
Italianorelazione
Românălegătură

noun set of ordered tuples retrievable by a database

日本語関係 kankei
中文關係 /关系 guānxi
DeutschRelation

noun way in which two things may be associated

Españolrelación
한국어관계 gwan'gye
日本語関係 kankei, 関連 kanren
Portuguêsrelação
Françaisrelation
DeutschBeziehung
Românărelație, legătură
Русскийотноше́ние otnošénije, зави́симость zavísimostʹ, связь svjazʹ
العربيةعَلَاقَة ʕalāqa
עבריתיחס iákhas

noun member of one's family

Españolpariente
Portuguêsparente
Françaisparent, parente, parenté, parentage, parentèle, parentaille
DeutschVerwandter, Verwandte, Verwandtschaft, Familienangehöriger, Familienangehörige, Angehöriger
Italianoparente
Românărudenie
Русскийро́дственник ródstvennik, ро́дственница ródstvennica

noun act of relating a story

Românărelatare, povestire, narare
Русскийповествова́ние povestvovánije, изложе́ние izložénije, сообще́ние soobščénije, расска́з rasskáz

noun sexual relations

Españolrelación, relaciones sexuales
Русскийполовы́е отноше́ния polovýje otnošénija

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MLA

"relation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/relation. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

relation. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/relation

Chicago

"relation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/relation.

BibTeX
@misc{relation_2026,
  title = {relation},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/relation},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}