1 relative (to sth) when compared to sb/sth else 与…相比的；比较上的；相对的: the position of the earth relative to the sun 地球相对于太阳的位置They live in relative luxury. 他们的生活过得比较奢华。

2 (grammar语法) referring to an earlier noun, sentence or part of a sentence 与前述名词、短语或句子相关联的；表示关系的: In the phrase ‘the lady who lives next door’, ‘who’ is a relative pronoun and ‘who lives next door’ is a relative clause. 在the lady who lives next door这个短语中，who是关系代词，who lives next door是关系从句。 For more information about relative pronouns and clauses, look at the Quick Grammar Reference section at the back of this dictionary. 有关关系代词和关系从句的详细用法，参看本词典末“语法便览”部份。