relative (relatives plural )
1 n-count Your relatives are the members of your family.
(=relation)
Get a relative to look after the children.
2 adj You use relative to say that something is true to a certain degree, especially when compared with other things of the same kind.
ADJ n
(=comparative)
The fighting resumed after a period of relative calm...
3 adj You use relative when you are comparing the quality or size of two things.
ADJ n
They chatted about the relative merits of London and Paris as places to live...
4 prep-phrase Relative to something means with reference to it or in comparison with it.
Japanese interest rates rose relative to America's...
5 adj If you say that something is relative, you mean that it needs to be considered and judged in relation to other things.
usu v-link ADJ (Antonym: absolute)
Fitness is relative; one must always ask `Fit for what?'...
6 n-count If one animal, plant, language, or invention is a relativeof another, they have both developed from the same type of animal, plant, language, or invention. usu N of n The pheasant is a close relative of the Guinea hen.
relative clause (relative clauses plural )In grammar, a relative clause is a subordinate clause which specifies or gives information about a person or thing. Relative clauses come after a noun or pronoun and, in English, often begin with a relative pronoun such as `who', `which', or `that'. n-count
relative pronoun (relative pronouns plural )A relative pronoun is a word such as `who', `that', or `which' that is used to introduce a relative clause. `Whose', `when', `where', and `why' are generally called relative pronouns, though they are actually adverbs. n-count
