All 5 Uses of

relative
in
A Great and Terrible Beauty

An orphan girl, a girl no one expected much from, someone who'd been dumped in a school because her relatives thought of her as a burden, a girl the other girls laugh at for her lack of grace, charm, and beauty ....that girl might show them all one day.†
Chpt 6

relatives = people related by blood or marriage

She's so lovely that scores of young men will prod their relatives to introduce them.†
Chpt 6 *

Sudden interest overtakes my grandmother, who, I'm sure, is wondering at this very moment whether Ann's relatives are rich or titled or both.†
Chpt 26

That's a nice way of saying "one of our charity cases," some poor girl packed off to school by a distant relative or given a scholarship by one of Spence's benefactors.†
Chpt 4 *

Definitions:

(1) (relative as in: the relative importance)
compared with something else (not an absolute value or not complete)
(2) (relative as in: they are relatives)
connected
in various senses, including:
- a person related by blood or marriage -- as in "The hospital won't let me visit her because I'm not a relative."
- a plant or animal related by origin or grouping -- "The closest relative of the dog is the gray wolf."
(3) (relative as in: questions relative to the topic)
related to
(4) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

More specialized and less common senses of the word are found in philosophy, grammar, and music. Consult a comprehensive dictionary if you wish to see those. All senses have to do with relationships.