fraternal
adjective
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Definition of fraternal
1a : 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
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Other Words from fraternal
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noun
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adverb
Examples of fraternal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Vincent, a fraternal triplet, is set to go home early next week, Barton said. — Janelle Walker, chicagotribune.com, "'One-in-a-million': Suburban woman had son, then twins — and now has given birth to triplets," 30 Mar. 2018 Technically, this made the babies fraternal triplets fertilized by one sperm cell. — Sarah Schreiber, Good Housekeeping, "A Woman "Miraculously" Became Pregnant While She Was Already Expecting," 14 Nov. 2016 The Shriners are a national fraternal organization that dates back to 1870 New York. — Maria L. La Ganga, idahostatesman, "What’s behind ’60s-era paneling at El Korah Shrine? A ballroom’s worth of ’20s art.," 12 July 2018 There are fraternal organizations and sororities involved. — Paul Sisson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Celebrating life at Euclid and Imperial, once known as Four Corners of Death," 8 July 2018 Rough Animals follows two fraternal twins on a remote Utah farm, bound together by a dark secret. — refinery29.com, "How Rae DelBianco Went From Cattle Farmer To Bookstagram Queen To Literary Darling — All By 25," 13 July 2018 For the Georges, that distinction came in the form of fraternal twins, Malik and Miles, who are now heading to their dream school together: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. — Christopher Brito, CBS News, "New Jersey fraternal twins named co-valedictorians, set to head to MIT together," 24 June 2018 Her older fraternal twin brothers, Jeremy and Zachary, are still featured on the show, but her younger brother Jacob decided not to take part in it years ago. — Eileen Reslen, Good Housekeeping, "This Is Why Molly Roloff Is Barely on "Little People, Big World"," 6 Apr. 2018 Textiles planned for exhibit were created in the 19th and 20th centuries, and include items from wedding and formal dresses to men's working clothing to fraternal uniforms. — Joy Davis, Aurora Beacon-News, "Fashion, art to be showcased in Oswego," 15 Mar. 2018These 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.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
How English Got Frenchified
How English Got Frenchified
And wound up with pairs of words—one fancy, one not—for the same things
Dictionary Entries near fraternal
Phrases Related to fraternal
Statistics for fraternal
Last Updated
3 Oct 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for fraternal
The first known use of fraternal was in the 15th century
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More Definitions for fraternal
fraternal
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of fraternal
: of or relating to brothers
: made up of members who share an interest or purpose
: friendly or brotherly
See the full definition for fraternal in the English Language Learners Dictionary
fraternal
adjective
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Kids Definition of fraternal
1 : having to do with brothers fraternal affection
2 : made up of members banded together like brothers a fraternal organization
fraternal
adjective
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Medical Definition of fraternal
: derived from two ova : dizygotic fraternal twins
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