brotherly

adjective broth·er·ly \ ˈbrə-t͟hər-lē \

|Updated on: 13 May 2018

Examples: brotherly in a Sentence

Definition of brotherly

1 : of or relating to brothers

2 : natural or becoming to brothers : affectionate

brotherly love

—

brotherliness

noun

—

brotherly

adverb

See brotherly defined for English-language learners

See brotherly defined for kids

Examples of brotherly in a Sentence

He gave his sister a brotherly hug.
He received brotherly support from his fellow priests.

Recent Examples of brotherly from the Web

In modern times, members do not learn a vocational trade, but the tools and objects used in operative masonry have been adapted as symbols in the ceremonies of modern Freemasonry to teach moral lessons, brotherly love and charity.

— community report, Houston Chronicle, "Liberty Masons hosting open house May 12," 6 May 2018
Check out Kensington Palace's Instagram announcement for yourself, below: And the same message was posted on Twitter, too, so their brotherly love could exist on as many platforms as possible.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "Prince William Is Officially Going to Be Prince Harry's Best Man in the Royal Wedding," 26 Apr. 2018
Budda and Robert were close, their brotherly bond detailed in a November 2016 Sports Illustrated feature on their relationship.

— azcentral, "Reports: Cardinals safety Budda Baker's brother killed in Seattle shooting," 22 Apr. 2018
Nikolas Cruz was unable to cope with the brotherly strife that an average boy might have shrugged off.

— brittany wallman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Broken relationship haunts brothers Nikolas and Zachary Cruz," 16 Apr. 2018
Josh’s illness deepens and becomes more severe, leading to a scene wherein Quinto and Hamm (ill-used to this point) manage to sketch, in just a few minutes, a lifetime of brotherly misunderstanding.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'Aardvark' gets up your nose | Movie review," 11 Apr. 2018
USA TODAY Sports Tuesday is National Siblings Day, and what would the NFL be without some brotherly competition?

— michael middlehurst-schwartz, USA TODAY, "National Siblings Day: Which brothers were best NFL draft prospects?," 10 Apr. 2018
About two months after the Eagles gave the city of brotherly love the Super Bowl title its always craved, Villanova's men's basketball team delivered a decisive college basketball national title.

— langston wertz jr., charlotteobserver, "Villanova blasts Michigan in NCAA final. Social media reacts | Charlotte Observer," 2 Apr. 2018
Stroman, another darling of the account, commented back to express baseball brotherly love for McCullers.

— hunter atkins, Houston Chronicle, "Astros' Lance McCullers Jr. experiments with leg kick in final spring start," 26 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brotherly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of brotherly

before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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brotherly Synonyms

Synonyms

fraternal;

Related Words

familial, sisterly;

chummy, friendly, neighborly;

BROTHERLY Defined for English Language Learners

brotherly

adjective

Definition of brotherly for English Language Learners

: showing or suggesting the love and closeness of a brother

BROTHERLY Defined for Kids

brotherly

adjective broth·er·ly \ ˈbrə-t͟hər-lē \

Definition of brotherly for Students

1 : of or relating to brothers

2 : ²kind 1, affectionate

Learn More about brotherly

See words that rhyme with brotherly Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for brotherly Spanish Central: Translation of brotherly Nglish: Translation of brotherly for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of brotherly for Arabic speakers

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brotherly

Definition of brotherly

brotherliness

brotherly

Examples of brotherly in a Sentence

Recent Examples of brotherly from the Web

First Known Use of brotherly

brotherly Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

BROTHERLY Defined for English Language Learners

brotherly

Definition of brotherly for English Language Learners

BROTHERLY Defined for Kids

brotherly

Definition of brotherly for Students

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