What does correlatively mean?
Correlatively is an adverb meaning 'in a mutually related or reciprocal way'. It is used when two or more things correspond to, mirror, or depend upon each other — for example, when researchers note that two variables rise and fall correlatively. The word derives from 'correlative', itself built on Latin roots meaning 'together' and 'to carry or relate', and it belongs firmly to formal registers: academic papers, legal texts, and technical prose, where precision about relationships matters. In grammar, it can also describe how paired expressions such as 'not only ... but also' work together within a sentence. An important caution accompanies its use: saying that phenomena occur correlatively establishes only that they are linked, not that one causes the other. For readers and writers who want an exact term for mutual correspondence — something looser phrases like 'at the same time' cannot convey — correlatively fills a precise and useful niche.
adverbIn a correlative manner; in a way that involves a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more things.
- In a mutually related or reciprocal way, so that two or more things correspond to or depend on each other.
- So as to function as a correlative, especially of paired grammatical or logical expressions (such as 'not only ... but also').
"The decline in bee populations and the reduction in crop yields rose correlatively across the region."
"Wages and living costs have risen correlatively over the past decade."
"In the sentence 'either you apologise or you leave', the two conjunctions operate correlatively to link the alternatives."
'Correlatively' is the adverb of choice whenever two things rise, fall, or change together — but it never promises that one causes the other.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of correlatively
Correlatively comes from 'correlative', which was formed from the verb 'relate', borrowed into English from Latin relatus, the past participle of referre ('to carry back, to report'), combined with the prefix 'co-' meaning 'together'. The adjective 'correlative' appeared in English in the early modern period, and the adverb was derived from it by adding the '-ly' ending, following the standard pattern for forming adverbs from adjectives. Its closest relatives are the other members of the same family: correlate, correlation, and related words such as relation and relative.
Related word forms
How correlatively is actually used
Correlatively is a formal word, found chiefly in academic, scientific, and technical writing rather than everyday conversation. It carries no positive or negative connotation — it simply asserts correspondence or mutual dependence. Writers should remember that stating that two things vary correlatively implies nothing about causation.
Easily confused with correlatively
Cooperatively means working together toward a shared aim, while correlatively describes things that vary or exist in mutual relation to one another without implying collaboration.