re|lat´er

re|late «rih LAYT», verb, -lat|ed, -lat|ing.

–v.t.

1. to give an account of; tell: »

The traveler related his adventures.

SYNONYM(S): recount, recite, narrate.

2. to connect in thought or meaning: »

“Better” and “best” are related to “good.”

–v.i.

1. to be connected in any way: »

We are interested in what relates to ourselves. The critic eye…examines bit by bit: How parts relate to parts, or they to whole (Alexander Pope).

SYNONYM(S): pertain.

2. to have a friendly or close social relationship with another or others; be responsive or sympathetic: »

Some teen-agers relate better to their friends than to their family. He flagellates himself equally for…relating badly to his children and for not relating at all to the children of Pakistan (Melvin Maddocks).

3. Obsolete. to give an account of something.

╂[< Latin relātus, past participle of referre; see etym. under refer (Cf. ↑refer)]

–re|lat´er, noun.