relation (n.)

  1. an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together

  2. the act of sexual procreation between a man and a woman; the mans penis is inserted into the womans vagina and excited until orgasm and ejaculation occur

    [ Syn: sexual intercourse , intercourse , sex act , copulation , coitus , coition , sexual congress , congress , sexual relation , carnal knowledge ]

  3. a person related by blood or marriage; police are searching for relatives of the deceased; he has distant relations back in New Jersey

    [ Syn: relative ]

  4. an act of narration; he was the hero according to his own relation; his endless recounting of the incident eventually became unbearable

    [ Syn: telling , recounting ]

  5. (law) the principle that an act done at a later time is deemed by law to have occurred at an earlier time; his attorney argued for the relation back of the amended complaint to the time the initial complaint was filed

    [ Syn: relation back ]

  6. (usually plural) mutual dealings or connections among persons or groups; international relations'

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.