brotherly

adjective

broth·​er·​ly ˈbrə-t͟hər-lē How to pronounce brotherly (audio)
1
: of or relating to brothers
2
: natural or becoming to brothers : affectionate
brotherly love
brotherliness noun
brotherly adverb

Examples of brotherly in a Sentence

He gave his sister a brotherly hug. He received brotherly support from his fellow priests.
Recent Examples on the Web Since the end of the Cold War and the subsequent bifurcation of Czechoslovakia, the two countries that emerged maintained warm brotherly ties, even when ruling governments in Prague and Bratislava were of differing political stripes. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 The Williams’ brotherly connection was on full display in Thursday’s win, with each sibling assisting the other for their goal. Matias Grez, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 As fun as a brotherly connection in the area would be for the Harbaugh family, the fit still might not be quite right. Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024 Olivarez’s poems are about the familial, brotherly, romantic, platonic and self kinds of love in our lives, and about how restorative those ties can be. USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024 Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson developed their brotherly bond and brawny bodies to suit up as the legendary Von Erich brothers in Sean Durkin’s new A24 biopic. EW.com, 6 Nov. 2023 And after suffering through the hardships of growing up without parents, leaning on each other to survive and finding strength in their brotherly connection, Tyler was sure his brother was about to do something special. Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2024 Following the second game, Dalvin and James shared a brotherly moment in the tunnel together that was caught on social media. Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 20 Jan. 2024 Jesse picked his pocket, Josiah recovered the ball and got back downhill but the brotherly defense hindered the layup. Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brotherly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brotherly was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near brotherly

Cite this Entry

“Brotherly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brotherly. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

brotherly

adjective
broth·​er·​ly ˈbrət͟h-ər-lē How to pronounce brotherly (audio)
1
: of or relating to brothers
2
brotherliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on brotherly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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