Library / English Dictionary

RELATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a logical or causal connection

Example:

I cannot relate these events at all

Synonyms:

associate; colligate; connect; link; link up; relate; tie in

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "relate" is one way to...):

cerebrate; cogitate; think (use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relate"):

remember (exercise, or have the power of, memory)

interrelate (place into a mutual relationship)

correlate (bring into a mutual, complementary, or reciprocal relation)

identify (conceive of as united or associated)

free-associate (associate freely)

have in mind; mean; think of (intend to refer to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody with something
Somebody ----s something with something

Derivation:

relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Give an account of

Example:

The witness related the events

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "relate" is one way to...):

narrate; recite; recount; tell (narrate or give a detailed account of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

relation (an act of narration)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Have or establish a relationship to

Example:

She relates well to her peers

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "relate" is one way to...):

interact (act together or towards others or with others)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relate"):

attach; bind; bond; tie (create social or emotional ties)

get along; get along with; get on; get on with (have smooth relations)

take back (resume a relationship with someone after an interruption, as in a wife taking back her husband)

mesh (work together in harmony)

disrespect (show a lack of respect for)

connect (establish a rapport or relationship)

bind; hold; obligate; oblige (bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted)

harmonise; harmonize (bring (several things) into consonance or relate harmoniously)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

relation ((usually plural) mutual dealings or connections among persons or groups)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be relevant to

Example:

My remark pertained to your earlier comments

Synonyms:

bear on; come to; concern; have to do with; pertain; refer; relate; touch; touch on

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Verb group:

advert; allude; touch (make a more or less disguised reference to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relate"):

center; center on; concentrate on; focus on; revolve about; revolve around (center upon)

apply; go for; hold (be pertinent or relevant or applicable)

affect; involve; regard (connect closely and often incriminatingly)

interest; matter to (be of importance or consequence)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be in a relationship with

Example:

How are these two observations related?

Synonyms:

interrelate; relate

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "relate" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Verb group:

interrelate (place into a mutual relationship)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relate"):

predicate (make the (grammatical) predicate in a proposition)

tutor (act as a guardian to someone)

tie in (be in connection with something relevant)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)

relation ((usually plural) mutual dealings or connections among persons or groups)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Do not you think it has an odd appearance, if young ladies are frequently driven about in them by young men, to whom they are not even related?

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

If we were not related, it would not signify; but as cousins, she would feel scrupulous as to any proposal of ours.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 1B (372 aa, ~41 kDa) is encoded by the human ARPC1B gene.

(Actin-Related Protein 2/3 Complex Subunit 1B, NCI Thesaurus)

A. turicensis is most often related to genital, skin, and urinary tract infections.

(Actinomyces turicensis, NCI Thesaurus)

The love of man and woman, I had always held, was a sublimated something related to spirit, a spiritual bond that linked and drew their souls together.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

(Mental Health, NIH)

I will not attempt to console you; but will simply relate the circumstances of the transaction.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Nor am I ashamed of the feelings I related.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Their notions relating to the duties of parents and children differ extremely from ours.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The rest I need not relate.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)