In mathematics, a reflexive relation is a binary relation on a set for which every element is related to itself. In other words, a relation ~ on a set S is reflexive when x ~ x holds true for every x in S, formally: when ∀x∈S: x~x holds. An example of a reflexive relation is the relation "is equal to" on the set of real numbers, since every real number is equal to itself. A reflexive relation is said to have the reflexive property or is said to possess reflexivity.