relate

See also: relaté

English

Etymology

From Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“carry back; report”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of refer. See also infer, collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prefer and prelate among others.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈleɪt/, /ɹiˈleɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪt
• Hyphenation: re‧late

Verb

relate (third-person singular simple present relates, present participle relating, simple past and past participle related)

1. (transitive) To tell in a descriptive way.

   The captain related an old yarn.

   Please relate the circumstances of your journey here today.

2. (transitive) To bring into a relation, association, or connection (between one thing and another).
   • 2002, Paul Light, Karen Littleton, Learning with Computers: Analysing Productive Interactions, page 92:

     The use of video made it possible to relate the talk to the answers given to particular problems in the test. With this research design it was possible to relate changes in test score measures to changes in linguistic features […]

3. (intransitive) To have a connection.

   Synonyms: ally, refer

   The patterns on the screen relate to the pitch and volume of the music being played.

4. (intransitive) To interact.
5. (intransitive) To respond through reaction.
6. (intransitive) To identify with; to understand. [with to]

   I find it difficult to relate to others because I'm extremely introverted.

7. (obsolete) To bring back; to restore.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 51:

     Abate your zealous haste, till morrow next again / Both light of heaven and strength of men relate.

Synonyms

• chronicle
• describe
• divulge
• recount
• state

Derived terms

• aforerelated
• relate to someone

Related terms

• refer
• reference
• relatable
• relater
• relation
• relationship
• relative

Translations

to narrate — see narrate

to tell in a descriptive manner

Bulgarian: описвам (bg) (opisvam) Dutch: vertellen (nl) Gothic: 𐍃𐍀𐌹𐌻𐌻𐍉𐌽 (spillōn) Italian: riferire (it) Latin: narrō, referō (la) Maori: āmiki, āmiku, whiti Persian: روایت کردن (fa) Portuguese: relatar (pt) Sanskrit: गदति (sa) (gadati) Spanish: relatar (es) Ukrainian: розповіда́ти (uk) (rozpovidáty), розка́зувати (rozkázuvaty) Welsh: adrodd (cy)

to give an association

Bulgarian: свързвам (bg) (svǎrzvam) Finnish: tuoda mieleen Japanese: 繋げる (ja) (tsunageru) Portuguese: relacionar (pt) Spanish: relacionar (es) Ukrainian: асоціюва́ти (uk) (asocijuváty), пов'я́зувати (uk) (povʺjázuvaty)

to make a connection from something to something else

Bulgarian: отнасям към (otnasjam kǎm) Finnish: liittää (fi), yhdistää (fi), samaistaa (fi) Japanese: 繋げる (ja) (tsunageru), 結び付ける (ja) (musubi tsukeru), 関連付ける (kanren-zukeru) Pennsylvania German: aabelange Spanish: relacionar (es) Ukrainian: пов'я́зувати (uk) (povʺjázuvaty)

to have a connection

Bulgarian: свързан съм (svǎrzan sǎm) Chinese: Mandarin: 有關 / 有关 (zh) (yǒuguān) Finnish: liittyä (fi), yhdistyä (fi), samastua (fi), samaistua (fi) Pennsylvania German: aabelange Spanish: relacionarse (es) Ukrainian: відно́ситися impf (vidnósytysja)

to interact — see interact

to respond through reaction

Finnish: vastata (fi), reagoida (fi)

to identify with, understand

Catalan: indentificar-se (amb) Finnish: ymmärtää (fi), samastua (fi) Hebrew: הזדהה (עם) (hizdahá) Portuguese: identificar-se Spanish: identificarse [con], empatizar

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: (please verify) relateren (nl) French: (please verify) concerner (fr)

Anagrams

• Aertel, Ertale, Tralee, alreet, e-alert, earlet, elater, telera

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Verb

relate

1. inflection of relater:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• alerte, alerté, étaler

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [rɛˈɫaː.tɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [reˈlaː.t̪e]

Participle

relāte

1. vocative masculine singular of relātus

Portuguese

Verb

relate

1. inflection of relatar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reˈlate/ [reˈla.t̪e]
• Rhymes: -ate
• Syllabification: re‧la‧te

Verb

relate

1. inflection of relatar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative