Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb In a relative manner; in comparison with something else.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In a relative manner; in relation or respect to something else; with relation to each other and to other things; not absolutely; comparatively: often followed by to: as, his expenditure in charity was large relatively to his income.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb In a relative manner; in relation or respect to something else; not absolutely.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb Proportionally, in relation to some larger scale thing.
  • adverb Somewhat.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb in a relative manner; by comparison to something else

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

relative +‎ -ly

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Examples

  • ‘Nothing’ may be a bit extreme but I use the term relatively – as compared to truly historic events.

    Dearth of Political Ranting (Here) « Whatever 2007

  • Kocherlakota said the backlash against the program did not change his calculation of the plan's costs, which he called relatively small.

    Fed May Stop $600 Billion Purchase Plan In Late 2011 Nicole Hardesty 2011

  • Kocherlakota said the backlash against the program did not change his calculation of the plan's costs, which he called relatively small.

    Fed May Stop $600 Billion Purchase Plan In Late 2011 Nicole Hardesty 2011

  • There are some out there who say 55 percent against what they call the relatively weak field did not leave you in good stead should you decide to mount a statewide campaign.

    CNN Transcript Mar 8, 2009 2009

  • There are some out there who say 55 percent against what they call a relatively weak field did not leave you in good stead should you decide to mount a statewide campaign.

    CNN Transcript Mar 8, 2009 2009

  • He also says that at least six other Marines have received shrapnel wounds, which he described as relatively superficial.

    CNN Transcript Apr 26, 2004 2004

  • And so it's not uncommon for one engine to be what they call a relatively high-time engine, ready for an overhaul fairly soon, twinned up with one that just came out of the engine shop.

    CNN Transcript Nov 12, 2001 2001

  • If the objection is particular, the objector must frame his contradiction with reference to a term relatively to which the subject of his opponent's premiss is universal, e.g. he will point out that the knowable and the unknowable are not subjects of the same science: 'contraries' is universal relatively to these.

    PRIOR ANALYTICS Aristotle 1989

  • On April 8, 1977, in a letter to me acknowledging what he called his relatively minor role in the Columbia job offer, Professor Lipset asked if he might publish a corrected version of the account.

    'Veritas' Cont. Lipset, Seymour Martin 1977

  • Mark Mahaney of Citigroup cited what he called "relatively positive sources of revenue, largely in mobile advertising," as well as big increases in total listening hours.

    MarketWatch.com - Top Stories 2011

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