familial

adjective fa·mil·ial \ fə-ˈmil-yəl , -ˈmi-lē-əl \

|Updated on: 14 Aug 2018

Examples: familial in a Sentence

Definition of familial

1 : tending to occur in more members of a family than expected by chance alone

a familial disorder

2 : of, relating to, or suggestive of a family

has familial ties to the area

a familial atmosphere

See familial defined for English-language learners

See familial defined for kids

Examples of familial in a Sentence

The company has created a familial atmosphere in its offices.
it's a familial duty as well as a tradition for everyone in my family to eat dinner together

Recent Examples of familial from the Web

One of the top prospects in the Class of 2019 has some familial ties to Kentuckiana.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "He has local ties, but U of L faces tough competition for Matthew Hurt," 14 July 2018
Instead, the authorities will release children to a parent once a familial tie has been established, provided the parent or guardian does not have a criminal record.

— New York Times, "‘I Want Her Back’: Some Migrant Families Reunite, but Other Parents Grow Desperate," 12 July 2018
Others remained unaware of the Wooden connection until recently, having instead treasured the relic for its familial ties.

— nathan baird, Post-Tribune, "Family bond preserves John Wooden's Purdue jersey," 10 May 2018
Like many of his predecessors, Trump has familial ties to Britain: His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Trump Coming to U.K. in July But Will Protesters Get a Look-In?," 27 Apr. 2018
Like many of his predecessors, Trump has familial ties to Britain: His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.

— adam taylor, Washington Post, "Will President Trump ever go to London? The saga of the special relationship’s long delayed visit.," 22 Apr. 2018
And heaven help the circle of over-the-top villains who try to abuse those familial ties for their own greed.

— steven strom, Ars Technica, "Yakuza 6: The Song of Life," 18 Apr. 2018
Her death is the first mystery to be solved by Arizona police through the use of familial DNA testing, a controversial emerging technique, officials say.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "Allison Feldman case: DNA leads to arrest in 2015 murder of medical sales rep," 11 Apr. 2018
Since that time, fictive sisterhoods of all stripes (familial and otherwise) have been realized to wonderful effect, giving women the opportunity to commune and take up space in ways not always fostered by their surrounding culture.

— marley marius, Vogue, "8 Stirring Tales of Sisterhood Adapted From the Page to the Silver Screen (That Aren’t Greta Gerwig’s Little Women)," 13 July 2018

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