relatively.

By comparison with another thing, group, period or relevant standard.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• relatively large
• relatively stable

On the page

The increase was relatively large compared with the changes in the preceding periods.

The system remained relatively stable beside the less constrained alternatives.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Invariable adverb; use more or most only where natural. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: scope qualification, degree qualification, criteria application, comparison. Disciplines: academic writing, analytical explanation, research interpretation. Commonness: moderately common.