re ‧ la ‧ tion ‧ ship S1 W1 /rɪˈleɪʃ ə nʃɪp/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ relation , relations, ↑ relationship , ↑ relative ; adjective : ↑ related ≠ ↑ unrelated , ↑ relative ; verb : ↑ relate ; adverb : ↑ relatively ]
1 . [countable] the way in which two people or two groups feel about each other and behave towards each other
relationship with
I have quite a good relationship with my parents.
relationship between
the special relationship between Britain and the US
2 . [uncountable and countable] the way in which two or more things are connected and affect each other
relationship between
the relationship between diet and health problems
relationship to
He’s studying politics and its relationship to the media.
The lessons bear little relationship (=they are not connected to) the children’s needs.
3 . [countable] a situation in which two people spend time together or live together, and have romantic or sexual feelings for each other:
He’s never had a sexual relationship before.
relationship with
She doesn’t really want a relationship with me.
in a relationship
Are you in a relationship right now?
4 . [uncountable] the way in which you are related to someone in your family
relationship to
‘What’s your relationship to Sue?’ ‘She’s my cousin.’
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ have a relationship
We’ve always had a good relationship with our neighbours.
▪ develop/form/build a relationship
By that age, children start developing relationships outside the family.
▪ forge a relationship (=develop a strong relationship)
We want to forge closer relationships with our allies.
▪ cement a relationship (=make it firm and strong)
We want to cement relationships with other transport associations.
▪ make relationships
I found it impossible to make new relationships.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + relationship
▪ good/great
Over the years, we’ve developed a good relationship.
▪ close
Laura had a very close relationship with her grandmother.
▪ friendly/harmonious
My friendly relationship with Scott’s family continued after his death.
▪ strong
Our relationship is strong enough to survive anything.
▪ a love-hate relationship (=when someone both likes and dislikes someone else)
The local people have a love-hate relationship with tourists.
▪ a special relationship (=a particularly close relationship)
I did not want to risk losing this special relationship we shared.
▪ a supportive relationship
People lacking supportive relationships were expected to be prone to depression.
▪ a working relationship (=a relationship appropriate for people who work together)
She’s a fine actress and we developed a great working relationship.
▪ family relationships
Travelling a lot for business can strain family relationships.
▪ a personal relationship
Drinking affects personal relationships.
▪ human relationships
Human relationships fascinate me.
▪ a social relationship
Satisfactory social relationships with adults are very important.
▪ a business/professional relationship
Both companies want to continue their business relationship into the future.
▪ the doctor-patient/parent-child/teacher-student etc relationship
A family crisis can adversely affect the developing parent-child relationship.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ a close relationship
The evidence points to a close relationship between poverty and disease.
▪ a strong/significant relationship
Studies show a significant relationship between smoking and heart disease.
▪ a direct relationship (=when one thing has an effect or influence on another, without any other things being involved)
There is a direct relationship between the demand for a particular product and its price.
▪ an inverse relationship technical (=so that when one is great, the other is small)
We concluded that there will be an inverse relationship between the market price of the bond and its true yield.
▪ a causal relationship (=when one thing causes another)
the causal relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer
■ verbs
▪ bear no/little relationship to something
The allegations bore no relationship to the facts.
▪ establish a relationship (=prove that it exists)
The book tries to establish a relationship between the war and social unrest in Europe.
▪ a relationship exists
No relationship exists between the size of the prison population and the level of crime.
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THESAURUS
▪ relationship when two people spend time together or live together because they are romantically or sexually attracted to each other:
After her marriage broke up, she had a series of disastrous relationships.
| relationship with :
I don’t want to start a relationship with her, because I’m going back to South Africa.
| relationship between :
Relationships between people of different cultures are often extremely difficult.
| be in a relationship :
Why are all the interesting men I meet already in relationships?
| sexual relationship :
Several of the psychiatrists admitted to having sexual relationships with patients.
| romantic relationship :
Even at 35, Bobby seemed unable to commit to a romantic relationship.
▪ affair a secret sexual relationship between two people, when one or both of them is married to someone else:
The affair had been going on for years before her husband found out.
| affair with :
I had no idea that Mike had an affair with Carolyn!
| love affair :
Burton had been involved in a love affair with a woman who ended up taking most of his money.
▪ fling a short and not very serious relationship:
Yes, I did go out with him, but it was just a fling.
|
She wasn’t interested in anything more than a casual fling.
| fling with :
She left her husband after she learned about his fling with an exotic dancer.
| have a fling :
They had a fling years ago.
▪ romance an exciting and often short relationship between two people who feel very much in love with each other:
It was a beautiful summer romance, but they knew it couldn’t last.
|
Richard and Penny had made no great secret of their romance, even though they were both married.
| romance with :
My romance with Lois did not survive our high school graduation.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ verbs
▪ be in a relationship
Valerie and I have been in a relationship for five years.
▪ end/break off a relationship
She was very upset when I ended the relationship.
▪ start/begin a relationship
She is in no hurry to start another relationship.
■ adjectives
▪ a sexual relationship
He admitted having a sexual relationship with a patient.
▪ a serious/steady relationship (=one that lasts quite a long time)
It was his first serious relationship.
▪ a long-term relationship
I have a seven-year-old daughter from a previous long-term relationship.
▪ an on-off relationship (=happening sometimes and not at other times)
Their on-off relationship seemed to have come to an end two years ago.
▪ a stormy/turbulent relationship (=one that involves many arguments)
It had been a stormy relationship and there were frequent drunken rows.