Approximate
Approximate adjective - Being such only when compared to something else.
Usage example: the movie's an approximate success, if you can overlook the overblown publicity that preceded it
Relative and approximate are semantically related in like topic. In some cases you can use "Relative" instead an adjective "Approximate", when it comes to topics like exact, similar.
Relative
Relative adjective - Being such only when compared to something else.
Usage example: after being crammed into a one-bedroom apartment, they lived in relative comfort in a two-bedroom house
Approximate and relative are semantically related in comparative topic. You can use "Approximate" instead an adjective "Relative".
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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One of the characters, Andy Libby, determines the approximate date by examining the relative positions of the planets in the Solar System.
Source: Newspaper Dating - This could be explained by the base derivation being the approximate length of a human thumb - something common to both cultures, give or take relative body sizes.
Source: Lucky Translation
Cite this Source
Relative and Approximate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/approximate/relative
Approximate & Relative. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/approximate/relative>.
Relative or Approximate. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/approximate/relative.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "approximate" and "relative" have occurred on timeline