<B>relativist, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who believes in the theory of relativity. <BR> <I>Ex. The now dormant relativists may awaken to brave new concepts that will reorient us in the universe of matter and ideas (Harlow Shapley).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who believes in relativism. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>=relativistic.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. In Dewey's relativist world consequences were the definite test of all thinking, and experience the only ultimate authority (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relativistic">
<B>relativistic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with relativity. <BR> <I>Ex. Relativistic phenomena generally cause a lot of intellectual difficulties for the non-scientist (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with relativism or relativists. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Physics.) having a speed so great relative to the speed of light that the values of mass and other properties are significantly altered. <BR> <I>Ex. Synchrotron radiation ... is produced when beams of relativistic electrons (electrons moving at speeds near that of light) are bent around the circular paths characteristic of many accelerators (William E. Spicer).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relativistically">
<B>relativistically, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>in a relativistic manner. <BR> <I>Ex. Most of the mass of the three quarks in a proton is relativistically converted into the tremendous energy that binds them together (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>from a relativistic point of view. <BR> <I>Ex. Although the name of a particle, or its electric charge, is a relativistically invariant concept, its ... angular momentum is not (David Park).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relativity">
<B>relativity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the condition of being relative. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Philosophy.) existence only in relation to the human mind. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Physics.) the character of being relative rather than absolute, as ascribed to motion or velocity. <DD><B> 4a. </B>a theory dealing with the physical laws which govern time, space, mass, motion, and gravitation, expressed in certain equations by Albert Einstein; special theory of relativity. According to it, the only velocity we can measure is velocity relative to some body, for if two systems are moving uniformly in relation to each other, it is impossible to determine anything about their motion except that it is relative, and the velocity of light is constant, independent of either the velocity of its source or an observer. Thus it can be mathematically derived that mass and energy are interchangeable, as expressed in the equation E equals m times c-squared, where c = the velocity of light; that a moving object appears to be shortened in the direction of the motion to an observer at rest; that a clock in motion appears to run slower than a stationary clock to an observer at rest; and that the mass of an object increases with its velocity. <BR> <I>Ex. One of the fundamental postulates of relativity is that the velocity of light is the same in all circumstances, even when the source and the observer are in relative motion (W. H. Marshall).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>an extension of this theory, dealing with the equivalence of gravitational and inertial forces; general theory of relativity. </DL>
<A NAME="relativityofknowledge">
<B>relativity of knowledge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Philosophy.) the doctrine that all human knowledge is relative to the human mind. The mind can know only the effects which things produce upon it and not what the things themselves are. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Psychology.) the theory that the consciousness of objects comes only from their relations to one another. </DL>
<A NAME="relativize">
<B>relativize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to make relative. <BR> <I>Ex. Recognition of the reality of evil necessarily relativizes the good (Carl G. Jung).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relator">
<B>relator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who relates or narrates. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Law.) an individual who brings a charge that causes the state to initiate legal action. </DL>
<A NAME="relaunch">
<B>relaunch, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to launch again. </DL>
<A NAME="relaunder">
<B>relaunder, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to launder anew. </DL>
<A NAME="relax">
<B>relax, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to make less stiff or firm; loosen. <BR> <I>Ex. Relax your muscles to rest them.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to make less strict or severe; lessen in force. <BR> <I>Ex. Discipline was relaxed on the last day of school. Gloria ... slowly relaxes her threatening attitude (George Bernard Shaw).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to relieve from work or effort; give recreation or amusement. <BR> <I>Ex. Relax your mind.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to weaken; slacken; lessen in force or intensity. <BR> <I>Ex. to relax precautions against attack. Don't relax your efforts because the examinations are over.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to become less tense or firm; loosen up. <BR> <I>Ex. Relax when you dance. Her compressed lips relaxed as she became less angry.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to become less strict or severe; grow milder. <BR> <I>Ex. Alick ... never relaxed into the frivolity of unnecessary speech (George Eliot).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to be relieved from work or effort; take recreation or amusement; reduce strain and worry; be lazy and carefree. <BR> <I>Ex. Take a vacation and relax. They come for rest, for fun, for the pure luxury of relaxing in Nassau sunshine (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to lessen in force or intensity; diminish. <BR> <I>Ex. The waves relaxed in their force until they did little more than play upon the side of the wreck (Frederick Marryat).</I> noun <B>relaxer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="relaxant">
<B>relaxant, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a drug or other substance that produces relaxation. <BR> <I>Ex. Anesthesia proper begins with injections of thiopental and a muscle relaxant of the curare family (Time).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> of, causing, or characterized by relaxation. <BR> <I>Ex. relaxant medication.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relaxation">
<B>relaxation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or process of loosening. <BR> <I>Ex. the relaxation of the muscles.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the act or fact of lessening strictness, severity, or force. <BR> <I>Ex. the relaxation of discipline over the holidays.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>relief from work or effort; recreation; amusement. <BR> <I>Ex. Walking and reading were the only relaxations permitted on Sunday.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the condition of being relaxed. <BR> <I>Ex. Mr. Lunt's alwaysextraordinary relaxation on the stage has reached the point where practically everything he does gives the impression of being an immediate and happy improvisation (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>pardon; remission. </DL>
<A NAME="relaxationtime">
<B>relaxation time,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the time required, in many physical phenomena involving change or disturbance, for the elements of the process to recover equilibrium, or to effect some desired or expected result. </DL>
<A NAME="relaxative">
<B>relaxative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> tending to relax; of the nature of relaxation. </DL>
<A NAME="relaxed">
<B>relaxed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>free from restraint or restrictions; not strict or precise. <BR> <I>Ex. Shakespeare ... is relaxed and careless in critical places (William Hazlitt).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>slackened, mitigated, or modified with respect to strictness. <BR> <I>Ex. When the law has become relaxed, public opinion takes its place (James A. Froude).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>loose-fitting; roomy and comfortable. <BR> <I>Ex. This fan dressed in the ... relaxed jeans of the Clinton generation, was clearly not watching the game (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relaxedly">
<B>relaxedly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a relaxed manner. </DL>
<A NAME="relaxin">
<B>relaxin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hormone produced by the corpus luteum during pregnancy which relaxes the pelvic ligaments. It is used in medicine to control premature labor and ease normal labor. </DL>
<A NAME="relaxor">
<B>relaxor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a substance that loosens or slackens closely curled hair. <BR> <I>Ex. The Afro ... severely scissored demand for straighteners and the other hair relaxors (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relay">
<B>relay, </B>noun, verb, <B>-layed,</B> <B>-laying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a fresh supply. <BR> <I>Ex. New relays of men were sent to fight the fire. The distances at which we got relays of horses varied greatly (Alexander W. Kinglake).</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B><B>=relay race.</B> <DD><B> b. </B>one part of a relay race. <DD><B> 3. </B>an electromagnetic device in which a weak current acts as a switch for a stronger current. A relay is used in transmitting telegraph or telephone messages over long distances. <DD><B> 4. </B>a device that extends or reinforces the action or effect of an apparatus, such as a servomotor. <DD><B> 5. </B>a group of persons taking turns in any work or activity; shift. <DD><B> 6. </B>the act of passing on a ball, puck, or stick from one player to another. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to take and carry or send farther. <BR> <I>Ex. Messengers will relay your message. He relays to Marx the stories that are reaching him from friends in Germany (Edmund Wilson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to transmit by an electrical relay. <DD><B> 3. </B>to provide or replace with a fresh supply. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to relay signals, a message, a ball, puck, or stick in sports, or an impulse or force of energy. noun <B>relayer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="relay">
<B>re-lay, </B>transitive verb, <B>-laid,</B> <B>-laying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to lay again. <BR> <I>Ex. That floor must be re-laid. At the same time that more and more people were trying to drive, more and more highways were being torn up and re-laid (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="relayrace">
<B>relay race,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a race in which each member of a team runs, swims, or otherwise covers only a certain part of the distance. </DL>
<A NAME="relaystation">
<B>relay station,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument or object that transmits or reflects electrical signals from one place to another. </DL>
<A NAME="relayswitch">
<B>relay switch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a switch operating an electric relay. </DL>
<A NAME="releap">
<B>releap, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-leaped</B> or <B>-leapt,</B> <B>-leaping.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to leap back or over again. <BR> <I>Ex. I resolved to pluck up courage and releap the dangerous abyss (Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton).</I> </DL>
