- relationship
- noun1 between people/groups/countriesADJECTIVE▪ friendly, good, happy, harmonious, healthy, strong▪
They have a very healthy father-son relationship.
▪ broken, difficult, failed, fragile, poor, rocky, stormy, strained, troubled, uneasy, volatile▪Their relationship has always been a stormy one.
▪ close, intense, intimate, special▪Britain's special relationship with the US
▪ committed, enduring, lasting, long-standing, long-term, monogamous, permanent, serious, stable, steady▪He was not married, but he was in a stable relationship.
▪ brief, casual▪ caring, love-hate, loving▪ abusive▪ family, human, interpersonal, one-to-one, personal▪ doctor-patient, parent-child, etc.▪ business, contractual, financial, formal, professional, social, working▪ marital, physical, romantic, sexual▪ platonic▪ gay, heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, same-sex▪ power▪The play is about power relationships at work.
VERB + RELATIONSHIP▪ enjoy, have▪They enjoyed a close working relationship.
▪The school has a very good relationship with the community.
▪He had brief relationships with several women.
▪ begin, build, build up, cultivate, develop, establish, forge, form, foster▪Building strong relationships is essential.
▪They established a relationship of trust.
▪ cement, improve, strengthen▪ continue, maintain▪ deal with, handle, manage▪He's not very good at handling personal relationships.
▪ break off, end▪She broke off the relationship when she found out about his gambling.
▪ destroy, ruin▪Lack of trust destroys many relationships.
RELATIONSHIP + VERB▪ exist▪We want to improve the relationship that exists between the university and industry.
▪ deepen, develop, evolve, progress▪ blossom, flourish▪ work▪I tried everything to make our relationship work.
▪ continue, last▪ deteriorate, go wrong, worsen▪ break down, break up, end, failRELATIONSHIP + NOUN▪ difficulties, problems▪ breakdown (esp. BrE)▪ goals▪ counsellor/counselor (esp. BrE)PREPOSITION▪ in a/the relationship▪In normal human relationships there has to be some give and take.
▪At the moment he isn't in a relationship.
▪ relationship among▪The focus is on relationships among European countries.
▪ relationship between, relationship to▪their relationship to each other
▪ relationship withPHRASES▪ the breakdown of a relationship▪ a network of relationships, a web of relationships2 family connectionADJECTIVE▪ blood, family, kin, kinship▪ distant▪He claimed to have a distant relationship with royalty.
PREPOSITION▪ relationship between▪‘What's the relationship between you and Tony?’ ‘He's my cousin.’
▪ relationship to▪What relationship are you to Pat?
3 connection between two or more thingsADJECTIVE▪ close▪There's a close relationship between increased money supply and inflation.
▪ direct▪ clear▪ complex, complicated▪ significant▪ true▪ particular▪ inverse, negative▪the inverse relationship between gas consumption and air temperature
▪ positive▪ causal, dynamic, reciprocal, symbiotic▪the symbiotic relationship between corals and algae
▪ linear, spatial▪ economic, functional, legal▪ natural, organic▪ symbolicVERB + RELATIONSHIP▪ bear, have▪The fee bears little relationship to the service provided.
▪ analyze, assess, evaluate, examine, explore, investigate, look at, study▪His latest book examines the relationship between spatial awareness and mathematical ability.
▪ determine, discover, establish, find▪They discovered a relationship between depression and lack of sunlight.
▪ demonstrate, show▪ see, understand▪ describeRELATIONSHIP + VERB▪ exist▪No statistically significant relationship existed between the occurrences.
▪ emerge▪A clear relationship emerged in the study between happiness and level of education.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the relationship▪The different varieties of the language are in a dynamic relationship with each other.
▪ relationship among▪Our research will explore the relationships among these variables.
▪ relationship between▪I can't see the relationship between the figures and the diagram.
▪ relationship to▪the relationship of a parasite to its host
▪ relationship withPHRASES▪ the nature of the relationship▪ stand in a … relationship to sth▪Women and men stand in a different relationship to language.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
