RELATING Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

relating

verb

present participle of relate

as in communing

to form a close personal relationship she and I relate so well it's almost like we're siblings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in describing

to give an oral or written account of in some detail we asked our uncle to relate the story of his visit to communist Russia many years ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in pertaining

to have a relation or connection how does your comment relate to what the rest of us have been talking about for the last hour?

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in associating

to think of (something) in combination most Americans probably relate tea to the United Kingdom and coffee to the U.S.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of relating The bill would allow a 35% to 50% credit on qualified expenses relating specifically to post-production in California. — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026 Relationship science draws a useful line here between two ways of relating. — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Presenting one idea, and then relating it back to something political. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 30 July 2026 Its symbols represent a mathematical formula relating the time periods of celestial bodies’ motions in the sky. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 13 July 2026 By researching Seth, Jacob is trying to recapture or devise a purer form of relating. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 13 July 2026 So, remember, by finding weeds, noting their location, relating them to a condition, and choosing corrective actions based on that condition, gardeners can begin to form maintenance diagnoses for their gardens through weeds. — Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 18 May 2026 The young players seem to like how Harbaugh is teaching and relating, too. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026 Some of them are old systems of knowledge, ways of relating the body to fertility, death, and survival. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 20 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for relating

Verb

Even so, in a digital world increasingly impacted by algorithms and all manner of AI, the allure of performers and music fans communing — live and in real time — cannot be underestimated.

— George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 June 2026
But the main event was Madonna communing with the nearly 3,000 fans at the premiere, most of whom have followed her for decades.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 June 2026

Definition of communing

Verb

OpenAI's investigation, released this week, went considerably further, describing agents that found unauthorized ways to communicate, collaborate and delegate work while attempting to accomplish their objectives.

— Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
The company says its technology is being developed to produce both electricity and high-temperature industrial heat, with its website describing temperatures of up to about 2012°F (1,100°C).

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of describing

Verb

However, a felony and four misdemeanor charges pertaining to domestic violence were dropped.

— Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
But technically, there is no rule pertaining to a player going from an SEC school to the NFL, and then back to another conference program within the same year.

— Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of pertaining

Verb

For creators, attending a Grand Slam can signal something to their audiences beyond an interest in tennis; for brands, the appeal lies partly in associating themselves with that cachet.

— Jessica Schiffer, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026
On the one hand, associating Russia with the Eurasian steppe is a political move.

— Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of associating

Verb

Why Baking Sheets Turn Brown and Sticky Oils and fats polymerize at high heat, bonding into a dark, sticky layer on the baking sheet.

— Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2026
The Spurs have been growing their presence in Paris over the past year, with the team joining Wembanyama in France earlier this month for a series of public appearances and team-bonding events.

— Jared Weiss, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of bonding

Verb

Those are police officers and people up high at CPD, literally calling me, meeting with us, telling us that morale’s at an all-time low.

— Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Dawadi ordered those already there to leave and called bus drivers, telling them to only stop at safer places.

— ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of telling

Verb

That day in the spring brought the work of several tenacious investigators – with the assist of genetic genealogy – closer to identifying the remains.

— Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
And many doctors who certify deaths in emergency rooms and hospitals, or for patients who die at home, don't have protocols for confidently identifying heat impacts, says Khatana.

— Alejandra Borunda, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026