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My first half is usually sturdy
The second is mostly relative
If the first is not well maintained
I shall greet it with the second

Hint #1

It doesn’t hurt to give, but it does to receive.

Hint #2

It is 6 letters long

Hint #3

Everything in this world can be related with the second half

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4 Answers 4

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I think you might be:

DAMAGE

My first half is usually sturdy

A DAM must be sturdy to hold back enormous volumes of water, form reservoirs and prevent flooding.

The second is mostly relative

People will commonly say that 'AGE is relative' - "you're only as old as you feel", and all that. (Plus the difference in two people's ages can show who's been alive longer - i.e. it allows a relative comparison to be drawn...)

If the first is not well maintained
I shall greet it with the second

If a dam is poorly maintained it will show signs of age and wear...

(Plus, as the OP prompts in comments, 'greeting' the first half, dam, with the second, age - i.e. putting them alongside each other - produces damage, the direct result of 'not maintaining' the first, i.e. a poorly maintained dam will result in damage, both to its structure and potentially to the valley and settlements below in the event of it bursting...)

Regarding the hints:

It does not often hurt the culprit to damage someone or something deliberately (through an insult or violence) but it is often physically and mentally scarring for the recipient. 'DAMAGE' is 6 letters long, and everything on our planet has an 'age' as everything has come into existence at some point.

As for the title:

If you are unfortunate enough to encounter something traumatic it may cause you damage - but you would never wish for it (it is unwelcome).

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  • $\begingroup$ Excellent explanation! Just one tiny additon: terrg vg jvgu gur frpbaq pna nyfb zrna nybat jvgu gur frpbaq. This is how the two halves can be connected by the whole. Hope you get the picture ;) $\endgroup$
    – Ébe Isaac
    Mar 18, 2020 at 7:16
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There are a few possibilities but I think you may be

Homesick

My first half is usually sturdy

Homes are usually sturdy

The second is mostly relative

Sick can mean cruel and offensive or it can mean excellent so it's meaning is context-dependent (it's relative).

If the first is not well maintained
I shall greet it with the second

If the home is not well maintained it can lead to illness.

Title

Homesickness greets people who are far from their home and they seldom welcome it.

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  • $\begingroup$ Nice try, but it's not the answer; the second half does not fit too well. Good, you got the poetic aspect of it though (+1) $\endgroup$
    – Ébe Isaac
    Mar 12, 2020 at 11:50
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I doubt this is it as the definitions are still pretty loose.

In a similar vein to hexominos answer, are you

Homework?

My first half is usually sturdy

Homes are usually safe and strong to protect us from the elements

The second is mostly relative

The amount of work put into something is relative to the force (effort) and distance (quantity).

If the first is not well maintained I shall greet it with the second

If you don't maintain your home you will have to put in a lot of work to improve it.

Also

Homework is seldom welcome by students and there is nothing worse as a student than to receive lots of homework to do so it's quite 'painful' to receive.

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Are you a

CONCLUSION - a judgment or decision reached by reasoning.

My first half is usually sturdy

The first half of a CONCLUSION is "a judgement or decision" (and it should be self-evident)

The second is mostly relative

The second half of a CONCLUSION is the reasoning relative to it.

If the first is not well maintained

If a CONCLUSION isn't self-evident, it would not be "well maintained". maintain - provide with necessities for life or existence.

I shall greet it with the second

A CONCLUSION that's not self-evident would require the reasoning behind it to be presented to the recipient. greet - to appear to the perception of

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