fraternal

adjective fra·ter·nal \ frə-ˈtər-nᵊl \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

1 a : of, relating to, or involving brothers

fraternal love

b : of, relating to, or being a fraternity or society

a fraternal order

a fraternal chapter house

2 : derived from two ova : dizygotic

fraternal twins

3 : friendly, brotherly

There was a fraternal feeling among the troops.

—

fraternalism

play \frə-ˈtər-nə-ˌliz-əm\ noun

—

fraternally

play \frə-ˈtər-nᵊl-ē\ adverb

See fraternal defined for English-language learners

See fraternal defined for kids

Examples of fraternal in a Sentence

He belonged to a fraternal organization.
There was a fraternal feeling among the troops.

Recent Examples of fraternal from the Web

The brothers, who are fraternal twins, have already taken different paths in some repects.

— mark stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Baseball preview: Indiana recruit Jeff Holtz grateful for experiences at Arrowhead," 10 Apr. 2018
The Klan modeled itself as a kind of fraternal organization, albeit one promoting white supremacy.

— charles reichmann, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘The Second Coming of the KKK,’ by Linda Gordon," 30 Mar. 2018
At Tuesday's news conference, black fraternal organizations and some religious leaders called on demonstrators to refrain from property damage and violence.

— nicole santa cruz, latimes.com, "California Department of Justice will oversee investigation of Stephon Clark killing by Sacramento police," 27 Mar. 2018
The 1927 building, built for the fraternal organization Knights of the Maccabees, has a limestone exterior and is owned by Wayne State University.

— john l. dorman, New York Times, "In Energized Detroit, Savoring an Architectural Legacy," 26 Mar. 2018
The Knights of Columbus are a 136-year-old service fraternal service organization dedicated to providing charitable services, including war and disaster relief, actively defending Catholicism in various nations, and promoting Catholic Education.

— jasper j. mirabile jr., kansascity, "The Knights of the Holy Smoker are serving up some delicious fish dinners during Lent | The Kansas City Star," 15 Mar. 2018
And despite a startling resemblance that includes standing 6 feet 2 and weighing between 170 and 175 pounds, Michael and Steven Zichelli are not identical twins, but fraternal twins.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Twin telepathy? Not quite, but UMBC lacrosse brothers Michael and Steven Zichelli share plenty," 23 Mar. 2018
Her daughters are fraternal twins, one from the mosaic embryo.

— sumathi reddy, WSJ, "IVF Testing Spurs a Debate Over ‘Mosaic’ Embryos," 21 Mar. 2018
Thoreau drives to an extreme those implications of anarchic individualism which in the end must undercut both the fraternal vision and the democratic polity.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "The Delusions of Trump-Era Escapism," 19 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of fraternal

Middle English, from Medieval Latin fraternalis, from Latin fraternus, from frater brother — more at brother

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

fraternal Synonyms

Synonyms

brotherly;

Related Words

familial, sisterly;

chummy, friendly, neighborly;

Other Genetics Terms

chimera, hermaphrodite, plasticity

FRATERNAL Defined for English Language Learners

fraternal

adjective

: of or relating to brothers
: made up of members who share an interest or purpose
: friendly or brotherly

FRATERNAL Defined for Kids

fraternal

adjective fra·ter·nal \ frə-ˈtər-nᵊl \

1 : having to do with brothers

fraternal affection

2 : made up of members banded together like brothers

a fraternal organization

Medical Dictionary

fraternal

adjective fra·ter·nal \ frə-ˈtərn-ᵊl \

: derived from two ova : dizygotic

fraternal twins

Learn More about fraternal

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

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fraternal

fraternalism

fraternally

Examples of fraternal in a Sentence

Recent Examples of fraternal from the Web

Origin and Etymology of fraternal

fraternal Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Genetics Terms

Phrases Related to FRATERNAL

Related Phrases

FRATERNAL Defined for English Language Learners

fraternal

FRATERNAL Defined for Kids

fraternal

Medical Dictionary

fraternal

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