From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrelationre‧la‧tion /rɪˈleɪʃən/ ●●●S2W1 noun1 →relations2 →in relation to something3connection [countable, uncountable]CONNECTED WITH a connection between two or more thingsSYN relationshiprelation between
the relation between prices and wages
The price the meat is sold for bears no relation to (=is not connected to) the price the farmer receives.4family [countable]FAMILY a member of your familySYN relative
We have relations in Canada and Scotland.relation of/to
What relation are you to Jessica?close/distant relation
Steve is a distant relation of my wife. →blood relation, → poor relation► see thesaurus at relative5 →have (sexual) relations (with somebody)COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: ADJECTIVES/NOUN + relationscloseMany Japanese favor closer relations with the U.S.goodRelations between neighbours on the estate are very good.friendlyHe had begun to establish friendly relations with his co-workers.race relations (=relations between people from different races who live in the same place)New government measures aim to improve race relations in inner cities.industrial relations (also labour relations British English, labor relations American English) (=relations between managers and workers)Good industrial relations are in everyone’s best interests.diplomatic relations (also international/foreign relations) (=official relations between two countries)By then, Canada and Britain had established diplomatic relations with North Korea.This visit was the president’s most important breakthrough in international relations.community relations (=relations between different groups in society)Two police officers are responsible for community relations in the area.verbsbreak off relationsAfter the incident, Croatia broke off all relations with Serbia.establish/develop relationsThe company has tried to establish relations with several universities.maintain relationsThe Indian government had sought to maintain good relations with China.restore/resume relations (=begin them again after they were stopped or interrupted)Kenya and Uganda agreed to restore full diplomatic relations.improve relationsThe government emphasized the need to improve relations with neighbouring countries.sour relations (=make them less friendly)The dispute has soured relations between the two countries.enjoy good relations (=have good relations)For years, the company enjoyed good relations with its workersCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 4: a member of your familyADJECTIVES/NOUN + relationa close relation (=a brother, parent, aunt etc )Many of her close relations live nearby.a distant relationHe was some distant relation of Pollitt’s wife.a blood relation (=one related by birth not marriage)It seems natural to share a house with blood relations.phrasesa relation by marriageShe’s a relation by marriage because she married my cousin. friends and relationsWe miss our friends and relations in the UK.Examples from the Corpusrelation• Two-thirds of management boards by 1987 included a seniormanager with primaryresponsibility for promoting service quality and consumerrelations.• Not really the thing for good intercompany relations.• Over the past 12 years, we have transformedlabourrelations.• If the course described to you seems to bear no relation to these criteria do make further enquiries.relation between• There's no relation betweenincome and how much healthcare a person will use.relation of/to• The preciselink between society and organization is found in relations ofproduction.• Her shame for him grows in relation to her pride in her brother.• The trouble with it was that even as early as 1945 it bore little relation toreality.• We wish it to be known that the mosquito is no relation to the Gadfly.• In the considered opinion of many experts this poorrelation of the industry will probably take 80% of the market by volume.• All this has upset the applecart of the relation offertility to prosperity.• Kinship, they believed, would contrast with the relations of production found in capitalist systems.• The current business emphasis on quality assumes that attention is important, yet it inverts the traditionalrelation of time to quality.
