relation
part of speech
noun (a relation, relations)
meaning for a pupil
1) A member of your family; a relative: All our relations came for the party. tree →
2) A connection between two or more things: the relation between speed and time. tree →
3) «Relations» are the way people or groups get on with each other: good relations between neighbours. tree →
4) «In relation to» (formal) means about or compared with. tree →
5) (maths) A rule that connects numbers or things, like «is greater than». tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths a relation links two quantities: «The number of legs is 4 times the number of dogs». In science, scientists find the relation between temperature and melting. In everyday life we visit relations at holidays. In the news: «friendly relations between countries». Phrases: «a close/distant relation», «in relation to», «bear no relation to», «poor relation».
examples
- My aunt is my closest relation in Canada. tree →
- Is there a relation between sleep and test scores? tree →
- The two numbers have a simple relation: the second is double the first. tree →
- The two teams have good relations. tree →
- Write the answer in relation to the question. tree →
- We have relations all over Australia. tree →
- The story bears no relation to the facts. tree →
- «Greater than» is a relation between numbers. tree →
- So close is the resemblance, indeed, that it is impossible not to surmise an historical relation between the two. tree →
note
Countable: relations. Similar: relative (family), relationship (a connection, often between people). «Relationship» is more common for feelings between people; «relation» for family members and maths connections.
In the corpora
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «relation» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.