Dictionary

relatively en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• [ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv.li] (Canada, US) flapped
• (US) audio
• /ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv.li/
• [ˈɹɛl.ə.tʰɪv.li] (Canada, US) enunciated

Etymology

Etymology tree English relative Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English relatively From relative + -ly.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) In a relative manner; with reference to environment or competition; contextually or comparatively.
   • In the present position of Europe, it is obvious, that France domineers. She has gained positively, by adding territory to her dominions [...]; she has gained relatively, by removing Austria to a distance, and by weakening that ancient rival to such a degree, as to secure her inaction for an age. 1802 March 14, Fisher Ames, “Balance of Europe”, in Works of Fisher Ames. Compiled by a number of his friends. To which are prefixed, Notices of his life and character., Boston: T. B. Wait & Co., published 1809, →OCLC, page 257:
   • Hence, another way to describe this level of reading is to say that its aim is to get the most out of a book within a given time—usually a relatively short time, and always (by definition) too short a time to get out of the book everything that can be gotten. 1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 18:
   • [T]he Sundanese [...] have better preserved their primitive usages than the other inhabitants of the island. They are as a rule taller, more robust, and healthier; but they are regarded as relatively barbarous, and in the company of Malays or Javanese, they are themselves ashamed of their dialect, which is looked on as a sort of rude patois. 1890, [Jacques] Élisée Reclus, “Java”, in A. H. Keane, editor, Oceanica (The Earth and Its Inhabitants; 14), New York: D. Appleton and Company, Inhabitants:
   • Some organs may grow faster than the rest of the body so that their size increases not only in absolute terms, but also relatively to the rest of the body, which is positive allometry; […] 1983 May 5, Paul Harvey, Tim Clutton-Brock, “The Survival of the Theory”, in New Scientist, volume 98, number 1356, London: New Science Publications, →ISSN, page 313:
2. (not-comparable, proscribed, sometimes) Somewhat; fairly.
   • Additionally, the F never lets you forget it's one big and very heavy motorcycle. The wide bars give you the leverage to bend it into a corner relatively quickly, but you feel its mass resisting. […] On the freeway, the seat–relatively thin to keep ride height down–offers a pleasant site for your rear through a tank of gas. 2005 January 14, “Honda VTX1800F”, in Cycle World, volume 44, number 1, →ISSN:
   • There are at least 1,000 DOE staff working in relatively new offices in the department created after Biden’s infrastructure and climate laws passed a few years ago, including the Grid Deployment Office – which works on modernizing and securing the nation’s electrical grid. 2025 February 6, Ella Nilsen and Sean Lyngaas, “Trump energy secretary allowed 23-year-old DOGE rep to access IT systems over objections from general counsel”, in CNN:

Forms

Deriveds

relatively prime

Translations (41)

es relativamente (proportionally) · ca relativament (proportionally) · ru относи́тельно (proportionally) · cmn 比較 /比较 (proportionally) · pl stosunkowo (proportionally) · da relativt (proportionally) · ar نِسْبِيّاً (proportionally) · la relātīvē (proportionally) · uk відно́сно (proportionally) · tl mahigit-kumulang (proportionally) · nl relatief (proportionally) · hi अपेक्षाकृत (proportionally) · sv proportionellt (proportionally) · fi suhteellisesti (proportionally) · fi suhteellisen (proportionally) · da forholdsvis (proportionally) · bg относително (proportionally) · ru сравни́тельно (proportionally) · it relativamente (proportionally) · cs relativně (proportionally) · pt relativamente (proportionally) · bn অপেক্ষাকৃত (proportionally) · ja 比較的に (proportionally) · nb relativt (proportionally) · nn relativt (proportionally) · ro în mod relativ (proportionally) · az nisbətən (proportionally) · az baxanda (proportionally) · sv förhållandevis (proportionally) · bg сравнително (proportionally) · de relativ (proportionally) · cs poměrně (proportionally) · an relativament (proportionally) · hu viszonylag (proportionally) · ur نسبتاً (proportionally) · el σχετικά (proportionally) · hu aránylag (proportionally) · de verhältnismäßig (proportionally) · pl odnośnie (proportionally) · gl relativamente (proportionally) · sv relativt (proportionally)