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Glite Dictionary
to cultivate good relationships

to cultivate good relationships

3.5
To build and keep friendly, trusting connections with other people
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : cultivar buenas relaciones
  • Successful leaders know how to cultivate good relationships within their teams.

Examples

  • Networking events are a great opportunity to cultivate good relationships in your industry.

  • It's important to cultivate good relationships at work.

  • It can take time and effort to cultivate good relationships with your neighbors.

  • She always cultivates good relationships with her colleagues.

  • She decided to cultivate good relationships with her colleagues to improve teamwork.

  • To succeed in business, it's important to cultivate good relationships with clients.

  • He took the time to cultivate good relationships with other parents at the school.

Synonyms

to connect
vsto cultivate good relationships
572 1.8

Build a friendly relationship with someone by talking or listening

adds ongoing care and maintenance beyond a first connection
to get along
vsto cultivate good relationships
  • US
529 1.9

Have a friendly relationship with someone

involves deliberate effort to create and sustain positive social bonds
to connect with
vsto cultivate good relationships
236 3.2

To feel close to someone and understood by them

is broader, covering general positive social effort rather than deep bond
to bond
vsto cultivate good relationships
149 2.9

To form a close relationship with someone

is less intense, aiming for positive connections that may not be intimate
to make friends
vsto cultivate good relationships
134 1.0

Begin to be friendly with someone

includes making new ties but also keeping and improving existing ones
to get along with
vsto cultivate good relationships
  • US
119 2.0

Have a friendly relationship with someone

is more active, about working to develop and maintain goodwill
to bond with
vsto cultivate good relationships
68 3.7

To form a close, trusting relationship with someone, like a friend or pet

is broader, aiming for positive social relations not only deep trust
to connect with people
vsto cultivate good relationships
16 3.5

Make others feel understood and build a friendly relationship

focuses more widely on keeping positive contact and goodwill
to nurture friendships
vsto cultivate good relationships
3.9

Give time and care to keep close relationships with people you trust

is more general, covering positive social effort with many people
to network effectively
vsto cultivate good relationships
5.1

To meet and keep in contact with people who can help your career

is less career-focused and applies to general positive social effort

Antonyms

to alienate
123 6.7

To make someone feel alone and lose support from others

How Connected

to cultivate good relationships
3.5
to make friends
134 1.0

Surface Forms

cultivate good relationships infinitive
cultivated good relationships past
cultivated good relationships past participle
cultivating good relationships present participle
cultivates good relationships third person singular

Morphology

cultivate + good + relationship

The meaning is directly compositional: 'cultivate' (to foster or develop) applied to 'good relationships' yields 'to try to develop and maintain positive connections,' so a learner who knows the constituents can infer the overall sense. This is a standard verb + noun collocation common across languages and follows ordinary semantic composition, making it transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Cultivate good relationships comes from the idea of a garden: to cultivate means to prepare the soil and care for plants so they can grow, and good relationships are like plants that need time, water and attention. So the phrase means 'to develop and keep good connections with people'.