congenital

adjective con·gen·i·tal \ kən-ˈje-nə-tᵊl , kän- \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

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Examples: congenital in a Sentence

Definition of congenital

1 a : existing at or dating from birth

congenital deafness

b : constituting an essential characteristic : inherent

congenital fear of snakes

c : acquired during development in the uterus and not through heredity

congenital syphilis

2 : being such by nature

a congenital liar

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congenitally

play \kən-ˈje-nə-tᵊl-ē, kän-\ adverb

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Examples of congenital in a Sentence

The irregularity in my backbone is probably congenital.
a congenital liar who couldn't speak the truth if his life depended on it

Recent Examples of congenital from the Web

Maya was born without legs because of a condition called congenital amputation.

— zeynep bilginsoy and mehmet guzel, Fox News, "Syrian girl born without legs gets new prosthetics in Turkey," 8 July 2018
The figure that caused the greatest alarm for researchers and administrators was 30 stillbirths resulting from congenital syphilis statewide — the highest number reported since 1995, the CDPH said.

— christopher weber, USA TODAY, "STDs reach all-time high in California, leading to spike in stillbirths due to syphilis, state health authorities say," 15 May 2018
The World Cup extrapolates some of these congenital qualities, doubling down on soccer’s winner-takes-all setup.

— alejandro chacoff, The Atlantic, "Soccer Has No Interest in Fairness," 12 July 2018
The camp is presented by the Dave Clark Foundation and will feature athlete and instructor Dave Stevens, a congenital amputee, who is a motivational speaker.

— courant.com, "Regional Digest: Black Wolves Trade Kyle Buchanan To San Diego," 2 July 2018
Cancer is extremely rare in newborns and even the first year, but that is when more than 11,000 children will die each year due to complications of pregnancy, congenital anomalies, prematurity and their consequences.

— warren alperstein, m.d., and judy schaechter, m.d., miamiherald, "Pediatric cancer: warning signs and symptoms," 18 Apr. 2018
Caleb was born in China with multiple congenital anomalies to his spine and lower extremities that had never been addressed.

— chicagotribune.com, "The joy of movement restored to one young boy," 12 Mar. 2018
That’s more than the number of deaths from pediatric congenital anomalies, heart disease, influenza and/or pneumonia, chronic lower respiratory disease, and cerebrovascular causes.

— NBC News, "Australian gun laws stopped 16 mass shootings, new calculations show," 12 Mar. 2018
Participants in the small study included mothers and fathers of children who underwent cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD) at less than 6 months of age.

— erica sood, phd, Philly.com, "Fathers of seriously ill children experience stress differently than mothers," 27 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of congenital

Latin congenitus, from com- + genitus, past participle of gignere to bring forth — more at kin

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First Known Use: 1796

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

congenital Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of congenital

innate, inborn, inbred, congenital, hereditary mean not acquired after birth. innate applies to qualities or characteristics that are part of one's inner essential nature.

- an innate sense of fair play

inborn suggests a quality or tendency either actually present at birth or so marked and deep-seated as to seem so.

- her inborn love of nature

inbred suggests something either acquired from parents by heredity or so deeply rooted and ingrained as to seem acquired in that way.

- inbred political loyalties

congenital and hereditary refer to what is acquired before or at birth, the former to things acquired during fetal development and the latter to things transmitted from one's ancestors.