relational

adjective

re·​la·​tion·​al ri-ˈlā-shnəl 

-shə-nᵊl

1

: of or relating to kinship

2

: characterized or constituted by relations

3

: having the function chiefly of indicating a relation of syntax

has is notional in he has luck, relational in he has gone

4

: relating to, using, or being a method of organizing data in a database so that it is perceived by the user as a set of tables

relationally adverb

Examples of relational in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This aligns with what many learn from early relational experiences: emotional safety matters as much as interest. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025

This is the revelatory moment that these novels of female alienation inevitably confront: the dissolving of any illusion that intimacy is possible, the failure of the narratives that unify a family, the crumbling of the relational identities (mother, wife) that have pinned her in place. —Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2025

Venus retrograde trine to Mars in Cancer is prime time for a date night, romantic evening, or a moment for singles to remember the highest and brightest relational outcomes. —Colin Bedell, Them., 27 Mar. 2025

Too often, the instinct is to lead or instruct, especially in organizing spaces, but the real work is going back to your own communities and doing the hard, relational work there. —Ruhama Wolle, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing relational

• relational grammar

Rhymes for relational

• formational
• foundational
• gestational
• gradational
• locational
• mutational
• nonrational
• notational
• rotational
• sensational
• translational
• vibrational