- 1 a person who is in the same family as somebody else synonym relation a close/distant relative her friends and relatives Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveclose, near, distant, … verb + relativehave, lose, care for, … phrasesfriends and relatives, friends or relatives, a relative by marriage, … See full entry See related entries: Relations, Family background
- 2 a thing that belongs to the same group as something else The ibex is a distant relative of the mountain goat. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French relatif, -ive, from late Latin relativus ‘having reference or relation’, from the verb referre ‘carry back’, from re- ‘back’ + ferre ‘bring’.Extra examples He believes that interior design is the poor relative of architecture. He greeted me like a long-lost relative. I have no parents or close relatives. If you die without a will, only a husband, wife, children and blood relatives are entitled to inherit your property. She’s caring for an elderly relative. The deceased’s immediate relatives will inherit her estate. The deceased’s immediate relatives, her mother and father, will inherit her estate. The names of the victims are being withheld until the relatives have been informed. The police are trying to find the relatives of the deceased. The succession passed to the nearest surviving relative. an intimate reception for close friends and relatives an organization that helps people who have lost relatives= whose relatives have died an organization that helps people who have lost their relatives people who care for a sick or disabled relative the increase in dependent elderly relatives I have close relatives. If you die without a will, only blood relatives are entitled to inherit your property.
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