Word family noun relation relations relationship relative adjective related ≠ unrelated relative verb relate adverb relatively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrelationre‧la‧tion /rɪˈleɪʃən/ ●●● S2 W1 noun 1 → relations2 → in relation to something3 connection [countable, uncountable]CONNECTED WITH a connection between two or more things SYN relationshiprelation between the relation between prices and wages The price the meat is sold for bears no relation to (=is not connected to) the price the farmer receives.4 family [countable]FAMILY a member of your family SYN relative We have relations in Canada and Scotland.relation of/to What relation are you to Jessica?close/distant relation Steve is a distant relation of my wife. → blood relation, → poor relation at poor► see thesaurus at relative5 → have (sexual) relations (with somebody)COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: ADJECTIVES/NOUN + relationscloseMany Japanese favor closer relations with the U.S.goodRelations between neighbours on the estate are very good.friendlyHe had begun to establish friendly relations with his co-workers.race relations (=relations between people from different races who live in the same place)New government measures aim to improve race relations in inner cities.industrial relations (also labour relations British English, labor relations American English) (=relations between managers and workers)Good industrial relations are in everyone’s best interests.diplomatic relations (also international/foreign relations) (=official relations between two countries)By then, Canada and Britain had established diplomatic relations with North Korea.This visit was the president’s most important breakthrough in international relations.community relations (=relations between different groups in society)Two police officers are responsible for community relations in the area.verbsbreak off relationsAfter the incident, Croatia broke off all relations with Serbia.establish/develop relationsThe company has tried to establish relations with several universities.maintain relationsThe Indian government had sought to maintain good relations with China.restore/resume relations (=begin them again after they were stopped or interrupted)Kenya and Uganda agreed to restore full diplomatic relations.improve relationsThe government emphasized the need to improve relations with neighbouring countries.sour relations (=make them less friendly)The dispute has soured relations between the two countries.enjoy good relations (=have good relations)For years, the company enjoyed good relations with its workers COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 4: a member of your familyADJECTIVES/NOUN + relationa close relation (=a brother, parent, aunt etc )Many of her close relations live nearby.a distant relationHe was some distant relation of Pollitt’s wife.a blood relation (=one related by birth not marriage)It seems natural to share a house with blood relations.phrasesa relation by marriageShe’s a relation by marriage because she married my cousin. friends and relationsWe miss our friends and relations in the UK. Examples from the Corpus
relation• Two-thirds of management boards by 1987 included a senior manager with primary responsibility for promoting service quality and consumer relations.• The other friends were all Parisian except for a young couple, Rumanians living in Paris, distant relations of Teodor.• Not really the thing for good intercompany relations.• Over the past 12 years, we have transformed labour relations.• If the course described to you seems to bear no relation to these criteria do make further enquiries.relation between• There's no relation between income and how much health care a person will use.relation of/to• The precise link between society and organization is found in relations of production.• Her shame for him grows in relation to her pride in her brother.• The trouble with it was that even as early as 1945 it bore little relation to reality.• We wish it to be known that the mosquito is no relation to the Gadfly.• In the considered opinion of many experts this poor relation of the industry will probably take 80% of the market by volume.• All this has upset the applecart of the relation of fertility to prosperity.• Kinship, they believed, would contrast with the relations of production found in capitalist systems.• The current business emphasis on quality assumes that attention is important, yet it inverts the traditional relation of time to quality. 