Meaning & use
relate with or to
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Meanings
phraseintransitive
to understand how someone feels because you have had similar experiences yourself.
Grammar: No object after the verb; the person comes after 'to' or 'with': I relate to her.
Patterns
- relate to someone
- relate with someone
- relate to what someone is saying
I relate to her because we both grew up in small towns.
Many readers relate with the main character in the novel.
He found it hard to relate to his teenage son.
phraseintransitive
to be connected with something, or to concern a particular subject.
Grammar: No object; the thing connected comes after 'to': relate to the topic.
Patterns
- relate to something
- be related to something
These documents relate to the sale of the house.
Her question relates to the second chapter of the book.
The police are checking messages that relate to the case.
phraseintransitive
to get along well with someone, or to have a good working relationship with them.
Grammar: No object; the other person follows 'with' or 'to': relate with colleagues.
Patterns
- relate to someone
- relate with someone
She relates well with her coworkers.
Some managers find it easier to relate to staff than to clients.
He relates with his students in a friendly way.
phrasetransitive
to show or explain how two things are connected.
Grammar: Takes an object: relate one thing to another.
Patterns
- relate something to something
- relate something with something
The report relates rising costs to changes in the market.
Teachers often relate new ideas to what students already know.
It is difficult to relate these results with the earlier findings.
Common combinations
- relate to someone
- Good teachers relate to their students.
- relate to a topic
- His comments relate to the main topic of the meeting.
- relate with people
- She finds it easy to relate with people from other cultures.
- relate well to
- He relates well to children.
- relate something to something
- The article relates the increase in prices to higher fuel costs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- identify with
- Stronger than 'relate to'; it suggests you feel the same as the other person, not just that you understand them.
- connect with
- More general and often more informal; it can mean understand, like, or simply communicate with someone.
- concern
- Used for documents or questions that are about a subject, but it does not work for understanding feelings.
Opposites
Word family
- relation noun
- a connection between two things or people.
- relationship noun
- the way two people or groups feel and behave toward each other.
- related adjective
- connected, or belonging to the same family.
- relative noun
- a member of your family.
Commonly confused: relate with or to or relate to? relate with or to or relatively?
relate with or to vs relate to
Do not confuse 'relate to' with 'relate with'. 'Relate to' is the safer choice for connections and understanding; 'relate with' is mostly limited to getting along with people.
relate with or to vs relatively
An adverb meaning 'compared with others'; it sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'relate' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Relate to' is the standard pattern when you mean you understand or are connected with something. 'Relate with' is possible for people you get along with, but it sounds odd with 'problems'; 'for' and 'on' do not fit this pattern at all.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “relate with or to”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.