Related / Unrelated 
Related / Unrelated 
1. Ways of saying that two things are related

related / connected adjective if two things are related or connected, there is some
kind of connection between them:
 These two problems are closely related to each other.
 Some people think that the  stones are	connected  in some  way	with  religious
ceremonies.

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
You  can use	related before a  noun, for  example: The report deals with  homelessness 
and other related issues. But you do not normally use connected before a noun in this 
way.
You  can  also say that two things are	not  unrelated  (=they are  related), for example:
Much of modern philosophy is not unrelated to the ideas of the ancient Greeks.

linked adjective  if  two things	are linked, there  is a direct  connection between  them,
and often one of them is the cause of the other:
 High levels of cholesterol are linked with an increased risk of heart disease.
 Individual performance is linked to the amount of effort that you put in.
 Two closely linked factors produced this result. 
 Our minds and our bodies are inextricably  linked.  (=they are  so closely linked that
they cannot be considered separately)

(there is a) connection / link if there is a connection or link between two things,
they are dircetly connected, and often one of them is the cause of the other:
 All the data we have suggests that there is a direct connection between the use of
fossil fuels and the rise in global temperatures. 
 Studies in the 1960s showed that there was a link between smoking and lung cancer.

(there is  a) correlation  if  there  is a	correlation  between two things,  they are
connected and one may cause the other:
 Karimov claims to have discovered a direct correlation between nuclear tests in the
area and earthquakes throughout the former Soviet Union.


 It is is well known that there is a strong correlation between obesity and some forms
of cancer.
 Numerous studies  have shown a  consistent  negative correlation between  age and
participation in sporting activities. (=older people are less likely to do sport) |  There is a
significant  positive correlation between alcohol consumption and the incidence of the
disease. (=people who drink a lot of alcohol are more likely to get the disease)

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
Correlation  is  used especially in statements that are  based on  scientific studies and
statistics

Interrelated	/	interconnected	adjective  if  things	are	interrelated  or 
interconnected, they are  connected with each  other and  affect each other in a 
complicated series of ways:
 Darwin said that all life on earth is interrelated.
 The book consists of a series of interconnected essays.

interdependent adjective  if  two things are interdependent,  each of them depends
on the other, and they cannot exist or continue independently:
 The parts of any living organism are interdependent.
 The economies of town and countryside were closely interdependent.

associated	adjective  if something  is associated  with another thing, it is thought  to
have a connection with it:
 Researchers discovered a gene associated with some forms of skin cancer.
 Salaries and associated costs have risen significantly over the past year.

be bound up with if two things are bound up with each other, they are very closely
connected and need to be considered together:
 Your sense of yourself as a person	is closely  bound up with what happens in your
early childhood.
 The mill's history is inextricably bound up with that of the Wilkins family (=they are so 
closely linked that they cannot be considered separately) 

go together phrasal verb  if  two things	go together, you  usually find one  with the 
other:
 Ignorance and distrust go together.
 Inflation and high unemployment usually go together.


2. Related to what is being discussed

relevant adjective related to what is being discussed or to a particular area of activity:

 His work is particularly relevant to this discussion. 
 The tribunal will look at all the relevant facts before making up its mind. 
 Applicants should  be educated to PhD level, and  have several years'  relevant 
experience.

pertinent	adjective  a formal word.  If  something  is	pertinent to  what is being 
discussed, it is directly concerned with it and it is important to consider it:
 The report was first published  in the late 1980s, but  its findings are  still pertinent to
today's situation. 
 This raises a pertinent question. Why should we give politicians all this power? 

germane adjective  a formal word.  Something  that  is	germane  is directly  concerned
with what is being discussed:
 The chapters which are germane to to the topic are chapters 11 and 12. 
 These questions are  especially	germane  in nuclear physics,  where  researchers are
constantly looking for better methods of analysis.

have a bearing on if something has a bearing on a situation, it is likely to have a 
big effect on it and it is important to consider it:
 At first it was difficult to see how this discovery had any bearing on the problem.
 Advances in genetics are  likely to	have a  huge  bearing on  discussions about
individual freedom.

to the point if something is to the point, it is connected with what you are discussing:

 His writing is always concise and to the point.
 Fat is one of the essential parts of our diet. More to the point, the fat in a meal slows
the digestive process and gradually releases energy into your blood stream.



3. Not related

not related / not connected adjective [not before noun]: 

 Carr-Hill and Stern (1979) have provided clear evidence that unemployment and crime
are not related
 The effectiveness of the drug was not related to the patient's age.
 These events were not connected with each other.


unrelated / unconnected adjective:

 Research has shown that performance on these tests is unrelated to intelligence.
 The two outbreaks of the disease were apparently unconnected with each other.
 She had to have surgery for an unrelated physical problem. (=a physical problem that
was not connected to another problem that had been mentioned)

there is no relation / no connection: 

 Studies have shown that there is no relation between how much coffee you drink and 
how much food you eat.
 There is clearly no connection between the person's gender and their ability to do the
job.

bear no relation a formal way of saying that there is no relation between something and 
another thing:
 This belief bears no relation to reality.

separate	adjective  if  two things are	separate,  they are  not the  same and are  not
connected with each other:
 The cost of the treatment is an entirely separate issue.
 Finance was kept separate from other functions of government.

discrete adjective a formal word meaning separate:
 The work is broken down into discrete tasks. 
 For Descartes, all matter is continuous, and there are no discrete particles of matter.
 Psychiatry is discrete from psychology and psychotherapy.

distinct	adjective  two or more things that are  distinct  belong to  the  same general
type, but are clearly different from each other in an important way:
 A map contains two distinct types of information.
 These functions fall into three entirely distinct categories.
 He is suffering from a mental disorder, as distinct from a mental illness. (=used when 
you want to emphasize that you are referring to a particular thing and not another very 
similar thing)



4. Not related to what you are discussing

irrelevant adjective not related to what you are discussing or what concerns you:

 The question of ownership is largely irrelevant.
 He spends too much time focussing on irrelevant details.
 Most members of the public see these things as simply irrelevant to their daily lives.



100 



have nothing to do with used when you want to say strongly that something is not
connected with another thing in any way: 
 Intelligence has nothing to do with common sense. 
 The  reasons why they want  to change the law	have nothing to do with  fighting 
terrorism.

have no bearing on if something has no bearing on a situation, it does not affect it
and there is no need to consider it:
 The new data had no bearing on the outcome of the research. 
 A recruit's  family background should	have no  bearing on  his  suitability for officer 
training. 

be beyond/outside the scope of  to  not be included in the range of  things that
you are discussing or writing about:
 These debates are outside the scope of this essay. 
 A detailed examination of his theory is beyond the scope of this chapter.

