related
/rɪˈleɪtɪd/ (bre, ipa) · /rɪˈleɪtɪd/ (ame, ipa) · /ri-ˈlā-təd/ (ame, mw)
related — adjective
- relatedpositive
- more relatedcomparative
- most relatedsuperlative
1. When two or more things are related, a link exists between them — for example, o
When two or more things are related, a link exists between them — for example, one event causes another, they belong to the same subject area, or they share noticeable characteristics.
The police found the two burglaries were related — both happened in the same neighbourhood on a Tuesday night.
two [nouns] were related: stating a connection between events
Astrid asked whether her headache was related to the long hours at her computer.
related to [cause]: showing a link to a source
Ryo and his team discussed several related topics, from marketing to product design.
Sea levels are directly related to the warming of the planet over the past century.
Vikram could not see how the holiday question was related to the maths problem.
- connected
More general and neutral; 'connected' can refer to physical links, while 'related' tends to be abstract.
- linked
Suggests a stronger, more direct tie than 'related'; often used for cause-and-effect chains.
- associated
Implies a looser or more indirect connection; common in formal and academic writing.
- unrelated
Direct opposite — no connection exists.
文法句型
A + be + related + to + B
A + and + B + be + related
用法筆記
Frequently used in the pattern 'A is related to B'. When two items form the subject, the pattern 'A and B are related' is also common. Adverbs such as 'directly', 'closely', or 'loosely' indicate the strength of the connection.
常見錯誤
2. Two or more people who are related share a family bond — for example, they might
Two or more people who are related share a family bond — for example, they might be siblings, cousins, or connected through a parent or grandparent.
Sirin and Dahlia did not know they were related until their grandmother showed them an old photo.
be + related: stating a family connection
Ilan is related to the shopkeeper through his mother's side of the family.
related to [person] through [someone]: specifying how the connection runs
Hassan asked whether being related to a classmate meant they would be in the same group.
Baraka discovered she was distantly related to a musician when she researched her family history.
The two women look so similar that strangers think they are related, but they are just old friends.
- kin
Old-fashioned or formal; 'kin' is used mostly in historical or legal contexts.
- blood-related
Emphasises a biological connection as opposed to connection by marriage.
- unrelated
No family tie between the people.
文法句型
A + be + related + to + B
A + and + B + be + related
用法筆記
Primarily predicative — appears after the verb 'be'. Can be modified by 'closely' (for immediate family), 'distantly' or 'remotely' (for non-immediate family). Do not use 'relative' as an adjective here (e.g., 'She is relative to me' is incorrect).
常見錯誤
3. If two species of animal or plant are related, they developed from the same earl
If two species of animal or plant are related, they developed from the same earlier species over a very long time and share many physical features as a result.
Birds are more closely related to dinosaurs than to any other living group, biologists believe.
closely related to [species]: indicating an evolutionary link
The red panda is related to the giant panda, but the two belong to different biological families.
Renata studied how wheat is related to wild grasses that grow across the Middle East.
Dolphins are more closely related to cows than to most fish, even though they live in the ocean.
Botanists classify this flower as related to the rose family because of its petal shape.
- akin
More formal and less common; 'akin' can also be used metaphorically for non-biological similarity.
- unrelated
In a biological context, 'unrelated' means no recent common ancestor.
文法句型
A + be + (closely/distantly) + related + to + B
用法筆記
Most common in scientific descriptions of evolution and biological classification. 'Closely related' means the two species share a recent common ancestor; 'distantly related' means their common ancestor lived much further back in time.