RELATIVITY

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The quality of being relative and having significance only in relation to something else

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("relativity" is a kind of...):

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Derivation:

relative (estimated by comparison; not absolute or complete)

relative (properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by 'to')

relativistic (of or relating to the philosophical doctrine of relativism)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts

Synonyms:

Einstein's theory of relativity; relativity; relativity theory; theory of relativity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("relativity" is a kind of...):

scientific theory (a theory that explains scientific observations)

Domain category:

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Domain member category:

event (a phenomenon located at a single point in space-time; the fundamental observational entity in relativity theory)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relativity"):

Einstein's general theory of relativity; general relativity; general relativity theory; general theory of relativity (a generalization of special relativity to include gravity (based on the principle of equivalence))

Einstein's special theory of relativity; special relativity; special relativity theory; special theory of relativity (a physical theory of relativity based on the assumption that the speed of light in a vacuum is a constant and the assumption that the laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems)

Derivation:

relativistic (relating or subject to the special or the general theory of relativity)

Credits

Context examples:

The disk is so deeply embedded in the black hole's intense gravitational field that the light from the gas disk is modified, according to Einstein’s theories of relativity, giving astronomers a unique look at the dynamic processes close to a black hole.