1
: of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter
filial obedience
filial love
2
: having or assuming the relation of a child or offspring
The new village has a filial relationship with the original settlement.
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Filial Has Familial Origins
Filial comes from Latin filius, meaning "son," and filia, "daughter"; in English, it applies to any gender. The word has long carried the dutiful sense "owed to a parent by a child," as found in such phrases as "filial respect" and "filial piety." These days it can also be used more generally for any emotion or behavior of a child to a parent.
Examples of filial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Julia, who studied music and theater at Harvard, is currently developing a musical based on the Korean folktale of Simcheong, a filial daughter who sacrifices herself for her blind father.
—
Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Dazzled by the size of the home and the beauty of its rural environs, Seoul-dweller Donghwa bonds with the family, especially the benevolent patriarch, for whom family, tradition, and filial devotion seem paramount.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
The story is set in Qiu’s hometown of Hangzhou, a city where ultra-modern skyscrapers glow above thousand-year-old canals, mirroring the film’s blend of technology with traditional values like filial piety.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 June 2025
This helps explain why some women may still feel obliged to have children out of a sense of filial piety.
—Maro B. Enriquez, Christian Science Monitor, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for filial
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Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Dazzled by the size of the home and the beauty of its rural environs, Seoul-dweller Donghwa bonds with the family, especially the benevolent patriarch, for whom family, tradition, and filial devotion seem paramount.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
The story is set in Qiu’s hometown of Hangzhou, a city where ultra-modern skyscrapers glow above thousand-year-old canals, mirroring the film’s blend of technology with traditional values like filial piety.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 June 2025
This helps explain why some women may still feel obliged to have children out of a sense of filial piety.
—Maro B. Enriquez, Christian Science Monitor, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for filial
Cite this Entry
“Filial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/filial. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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