# related

/ˌɹiˈɫeɪtɪd/ (US) · /ɹɪlˈeɪtɪd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/related
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. connected

adjective · CEFR B1

having a connection or being similar in some way.

For teachers: connected by reason of an established or discoverable relation; often used to describe topics, events, or concepts.

- The police believe the two crimes are related because they happened on the same street.
- The researchers discovered that the decline in local bird populations was directly related to the increased use of specific pesticides in nearby farms.

### 2. family

adjective · CEFR B1

belonging to the same family.

For teachers: connected by blood, marriage, or common ancestry.

- Are you two related? You look very much like your brother.
- Although they share the same surname and grew up in the same small village, the two families are not actually related by blood.

### 3. told a story

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal · Literary

told a story or described a series of events.

For teachers: the past tense of 'relate', meaning to give an account of or narrate a sequence of events.

- The witness related the events of the night to the judge.
- In his memoirs, the diplomat related several anecdotes concerning his private meetings with world leaders during the crisis.

Usage: This sense is transitive and requires a direct object, usually the story or information being shared.

## Examples

- The two problems are closely related.
- Police are investigating whether the two robberies are related or if they were committed by different people.
- While the two languages appear distinct to a casual listener, they are actually closely related and share a significant amount of core vocabulary and grammatical structures.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.