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unrelated

/ənrɪˈleɪɾɪd/
/ənrɪˈleɪtɪd/
IPA guide

Unrelated is a good way to describe things that aren't connected or linked in any way. You might insist that your dented car bumper is unrelated to your neighbor's smashed mailbox.

Things that have no connection are unrelated: your excellent test grade is unrelated to the shoes your wore on the day you took it, and your inability remember the name of the movie you just watched is unrelated to the fact that the sun is shining. You can also describe two people who aren't in the same family as unrelated. The Latin root is relatus, a past participle of referre, "bring back."

Definitions of unrelated
  1. adjective
    lacking a logical or causal relation
    synonyms:
    misrelated
    mistakenly related
    orthogonal
    statistically unrelated
    uncorrelated
    not varying together
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    related
    being connected either logically or causally or by shared characteristics
    affiliated, attached, connected
    being joined in close association
    age-related
    changing (increasing or decreasing) as an individual's age increases
    bound up
    closely or inseparably connected or associated with
    cognate
    having the same ancestral language
    cognate, connate
    related in nature
    coreferent
    related by sharing a symbolic link to a concrete object or an abstraction
    correlate, correlated, correlative
    mutually related
    corresponding
    accompanying
    side by side
    closely related or associated
  2. adjective
    not connected by kinship
    synonyms:
    unconnected
    not connected by birth or family
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    related
    connected by kinship, common origin, or marriage
    direct, lineal
    in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child
    collateral, indirect
    descended from a common ancestor but through different lines
    affinal, affine
    (anthropology) related by marriage
    agnate, agnatic, paternal
    related on the father's side
    allied
    related by common characteristics or ancestry
    descendant, descendent
    proceeding by descent from an ancestor
    enate, enatic, maternal
    related on the mother's side
    kindred
    related by blood or marriage
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘unrelated'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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