Sentence:  The threat of effective anti-trust action , provoked by `` gouging the public '' through price increases not justified by cost increases , and fears of endangering relations with customers , Congress , the general public and the press , all operate to keep price increases in some <WSD>relation</WSD> to cost increases . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together