family

noun

ˈfam-lē How to pronounce family (audio)
Definition of familynext
1
as in clan
a group of persons who come from the same ancestor the Adams family made remarkable contributions to American life for more than two centuries

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in kind
one of the units into which a whole is divided on the basis of a common characteristic the flute, the clarinet, the oboe, and other members of the woodwind family

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of family Every day, Cord Shiflet drives 200 miles round trip from Austin, helping survivors tell their stories, connecting them with resources and raising more than $50,000 for affected families through Facebook. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 20 July 2026 The latest controversy involved a family member rather than an aide. — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 20 July 2026 Early in the trailer, the Walter family patriarch is shown in the hospital on a ventilator. — Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 19 July 2026 The backstory The Sandpiper was built in 1970 and has been family-run ever since. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for family
Recent Examples of Synonyms for family
  1. clan
  2. kind
  3. house
  4. category
  5. tribe
  6. group
  7. folks
  8. household
Noun
  • Not to mention battling nerds, LARPers, and a particularly petulant McPoyle clan at the Renaissance Faire or sportswashing their way back into the good graces of their community by sponsoring a Little League team.
    — Joe Otterson, Variety, 15 July 2026
  • Like her big sister Mia, Lena has made a few royal and informal public appearances, from attending the Festival of British Eventing to joining the whole clan for Christmas at Sandringham.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 13 July 2026
Definition of clan
Noun
  • California responded in kind, with passage of Proposition 50, a measure that shelved the work of a nonpartisan redistricting commission in favor of a map aimed at handing Democrats five additional seats.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026
  • People also like listening to podcasts for free, and Peters also answered a question about whether Netflix would consider adding FAST channels or a free tier of some kind to better reach those people.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 16 July 2026
Definition of kind
Noun
  • How to prepare before strong winds approach Trim tree branches away from your house and power lines.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
  • Outside, the cops, led by a dry sinister officer in a long black leather coat, order him to get on the ground, face down; Sophia comes out of the house and is placed in the back of a car, staring at all this through the glass.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 July 2026
Definition of house
Noun
  • For competition favorites, Nike and Adidas, return on investment will be scrutinized in micro-detail, guiding their approaches to future marketing in both sportswear and broader lifestyle categories.
    — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 16 July 2026
  • The tens of billions that easily plow into Anthropic and OpenAI, Ryan said, are their own category of investing.
    — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 15 July 2026
Definition of category
Noun
  • Though today controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, Grand Staircase–Escalante is the homeland of an array of Native American tribes, including the Hopi, the Navajo, and the Ute Nation of Utah.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 14 July 2026
  • The project still faces significant opposition from environmentalists, local Indian tribes and the state of California.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of tribe
Noun
  • At least 100,000 have been killed in the fighting, according to conflict monitoring group ACLED.
    — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
  • The problem is that this group is mostly comprised of uncultured idiots, so Shai and Georgia are the only people who know what Rocky Horror is.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 16 July 2026
Definition of group
Noun
  • For the past decade or so—somewhere along the way—folks decided that food needed to be serious to be good.
    — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 18 July 2026
  • These are but a few; Trump seemingly no longer has a use for these folks.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2026
Definition of folks
Noun
  • Deoleo, the maker of household olive oil brands such as Bertolli and Carbonell, previously described the three-year window from 2022 to 2024 as one of the most challenging periods in the sector's history.
    — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 17 July 2026
  • Years of austerity that followed the 2008 financial crash mean economic growth – and household incomes – have largely stagnated since then.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Definition of household

Phrases Containing family

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families
family
family doctor
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Cite this Entry

“Family.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/family. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on family

Nglish: Translation of family for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about family

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