Interrelated

Interrelated is an adjective that describes things that are mutually connected or linked in a way that each part influences or depends on others. The term combines inter- meaning between or mutual with related, signaling a network of relationships rather than isolated components.

Usage appears across disciplines. In ecology, populations, resources, and environmental factors are interrelated; a change in climate can alter food webs, which in turn affects species survival. In social science and policy, economic, cultural, and institutional factors form an interrelated system that shapes outcomes such as health, education, or inequality. In engineering and project management, tasks, subsystems, and requirements are interrelated, so a decision in one area can have cascading effects on cost, schedule, or performance.

Interrelated is often used to describe complexity and systems thinking, where feedback loops and cascading effects matter. It is related to but distinct from interconnected (links between parts), interdependent (mutual reliance), and more general notions of correlation or causation. The term emphasizes that components form a network of relationships that cannot be fully understood in isolation.