relative

adjective
rel·a·tive
rel'ətiv

Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.

Example

“We've been discussing the relative merits of various methods of transportation.”

Other meanings

Expressed in relation to another item, rather than in complete form.
Depending on an antecedent; comparative.
“The words “big” and “small” are relative.”

Synonyms

comparative

Related words

relatival
transrelative
relative adverb
aliorelative
ethnorelative
relative majority
relatively
relativeness
unrelative
relative direction
relative address
relative adjective

Example sentences

“Crocodiles are the closest living relatives of birds.”
Tatoeba · Miktsoanit · CC0
“I'm not sure if that qualifies as relative tense.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0

Word history

From Latin "relātus".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “relative” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.