ADJ

friendly, good, happy, harmonious, healthy, strong
broken, difficult, failed, fragile, poor, stormy, strained, troubled, uneasy
close, intense, intimate, special
Britain's special relationship with the US
enduring, lasting, long-standing, long-term, permanent, serious, stable, steady
He was not married, but he was in a stable relationship
brief, casual
family, human, interpersonal, one-to-one, personal
doctor-patient, parent-child, etc.
business, contractual, formal, marital, physical, power, professional, sexual, social, working
caring, love-hate, loving

VERB + RELATIONSHIP

enjoy, have
They enjoyed a close working relationship. The school has a very good relationship with the community. He had brief relationships with several women
begin, build (up), develop, establish, foster
Building strong relationships is essential. They established a relationship of trust
cement, improve, strengthen
continue, maintain
handle, manage
He's not very good at handling personal relationships
break off
She broke off the relationship when she found out about his gambling
destroy
Lack of trust destroys many relationships

RELATIONSHIP + VERB

exist
We want to improve the relationship that exists between the university and the town
blossom, deepen, develop
flourish
work
I tried everything to make our relationship work
continue, last
deteriorate, go wrong, worsen
break down, break up, fail

RELATIONSHIP + NOUN

difficulties, problems
goals

PREP

in a/the ~
In normal human relationships there has to be some give and take. At the moment he isn't in a relationship
~ among
The focus is on relationships among European countries
~ between, ~ to
their relationship to each other
~ with

PHRASES

the breakdown of a relationship, a network/web of relationships

ADJ

blood, family, kin, kinship

PREP

in a/the ~
Some people think only about themselves, even in family relationships
~ between
' What's the relationship between you and Tony? ' ' He's my cousin. '
~ to
What relationship are you to Pat?

ADJ

close
There's a close relationship between increased money supply and inflation
direct
clear
complex
significant
true
particular
inverse, negative
the inverse relationship between gas consumption and air temperature
positive
causal, dynamic, reciprocal
linear, spatial
economic, functional, legal
natural, organic
symbolic

VERB + RELATIONSHIP

bear, have
The fee bears little relationship to the service provided
examine, explore, look at, study
His latest book examines the relationship between spatial awareness and mathematical ability
discover, find
They discovered a relationship between depression and lack of sunlight
demonstrate, show
see, understand
stand in
Women and men stand in a different relationship to language

PREP

in a/the ~
The different varieties of the language are in a dynamic relationship with each other
~ between
I can't see the relationship between the figures and the diagram
~ to
the relationship of a parasite to its host
~ with

PHRASES

the nature of the relationship