relation
an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,646 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,300 times across 155,139 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
- sexual activity between individuals, especially the insertion of a man's penis into a woman's vagina until orgasm and ejaculation occur also: sexual intercourse, intercourse, sex act, copulation, coitus, coition
- a person related by blood or marriage also: relative police are searching for relatives of the deceasedhe has distant relations back in New Jersey
- an act of narration also: telling, recounting he was the hero according to his own relationhis endless recounting of the incident eventually became unbearable
- (law) the principle that an act done at a later time is deemed by law to have occurred at an earlier time also: relation back his attorney argued for the relation back of the amended complaint to the time the initial complaint was filed
- (usually plural) mutual dealings or connections among persons or groups international relations
relation in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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He attended the funeral--though he was no relation.
Man and Wife · Wilkie Collins · Chapter 2
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Ah, ha! perhaps some relation to Bartja's faithful fair one!
An Egyptian Princess — Volume 07 · Georg Ebers · Chapter 1
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Now, what is the relation of our intellectual development to this physical improvement?
The Novel and the Common School · Charles Dudley Warner · Chapter 1
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Amelia is a poor relation, and has often to put up with unfinished manners.
The Reflections of Ambrosine: A Novel · Elinor Glyn · Chapter 1
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It must have some relation to girls, he felt vaguely, but beyond that vague feeling he could not get.
The Soul of a Child · Edwin Björkman · Chapter 1