parental

American  

[puh-ren-tl] / pəˈrɛn tl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a parent.

2. proper to or characteristic of a parent.

   parental feelings.

3. having the relation of a parent

4. Genetics. pertaining to the sequence of generations preceding the filial generation, each generation being designated by a P followed by a subscript number indicating its place in the sequence.

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noun

1. Also called parental unit.  Informal. one's parent.

   I'm headed for a vacation with the parentals.

parental British  

/ pəˈrɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a parent or parenthood

2. genetics designating the first generation in a line, which gives rise to all succeeding (filial) generations

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Other Word Forms

• interparental adjective
• nonparental adjective
• nonparentally adverb
• parentally adverb
• postparental adjective
• unparental adjective
• unparentally adverb

Etymology

Origin of parental

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin parentālis “of, belonging to parents,” equivalent to parent- “parent” + -ālis adjective suffix; see parent, -al ¹

Explanation

Someone who's parental acts the way a typical mother or father does. A parental kindergarten teacher might pat students' heads and call them "sweetheart." You can use the adjective parental to describe a motherly or fatherly person, like your parental uncle who attends all your school plays. It also describes something generally related to parents — like parental leave, a work benefit that allows new parents to take some time off to care for their baby; or a parental advisory, which warns parents about the content of an audio recording. The Latin root of parental is parens, "father or mother."

Example Sentences

During this time, the owls are still under parental care.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Bills like the 2025 App Store Accountability Act, introduced to the House last year, would require age verification to download certain “age restricted” apps and parental consent for users under 18.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026

Greenlight is a subscription service with a plan starting at around $11 a month per family that lets children research stocks and ETFs and request trades with parental approval.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

In modern animals, larger eggs contain more yolk, which provides enough nutrients for embryos to develop without needing parental care after hatching.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

With the player’s parents away and unaware of what was going on, there was no problem of parental interference.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Related Words

• fatherly
• maternal
• paternal