kinsmen

noun

plural of kinsman
as in cousins
a person connected with another by blood or marriage to protect the family honor, he sought to revenge the murder of his kinsman

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 kinsmen Records of public meetings and community newspapers feature jabs at how far these sorry kinsmen have strayed from their heritage. — Eythana Miller, The Dial, 23 June 2026 But the chief’s kinsmen failed to honor his request. — Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kinsmen
  1. cousins
  2. relatives
  3. relations
Noun
  • Cranberries get a fraction of the shine compared to their fruity cousins.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 2 Nov. 2026
  • When one of Achou Taibo’s cousins died in August, one of the village's traditional medicine clinics blamed poisoning for the death.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of cousins
Noun
  • Fortune has reported on scammers using voice-cloning tools to impersonate relatives since 2023.
    — Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The changes include allowing the adoption of distant male relatives raised as commoners to become royals and father future heirs, and letting princesses keep their royal status after marrying commoners.
    — Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of relatives
Noun
  • Even though relations between the pair had been publicly disintegrating for weeks, Stevens' announcement was a surprise.
    — Barbara Sprunt, NPR, 1 Nov. 2026
  • She’s expected to continue Radev’s policy of keeping Bulgaria on its European path, while also supporting better relations with Russia and the lifting of sanctions.
    — Veselin Toshkov, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of relations

Browse Nearby Words

kinsman
kinsmen
kinswoman
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Kinsmen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kinsmen. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All