familial

[ fuh-mil-yuhl, -mil-ee-uhl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a family:

   familial ties.

2. appearing in individuals by heredity:

   a familial disease.

familial

/ fəˈmɪlɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the family
2. occurring in the members of a family

   a familial disease

Other Words From

• inter·fa·milial adjective
• nonfa·milial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of familial¹

From French, dating back to 1895–1900; family, -al ¹

Example Sentences

Some of those relationships are romantic, and some are familial, and some are platonic, but they all appear to be very loving.

From Vox

In the old days, when Aunt Rose’s friend’s daughter Brittany called you, your familial obligations to Aunt Rose extended to Brittany, requiring some response.

From Washington Post

Hunting rhetoric is filled with talk about the familial passing of age-old traditions.

From Outside Online

Designed to go beyond square footage and budget, the search engine also factors in familial status, day-to-day lifestyle necessities, and neighborhood must-haves to serve each user with the homes that best fit his or her life.

From Fortune

One recent study found that nursing mothers passed along unique, familial strains of bacteria to their infants, suggesting that, like those aphids, humans may also convey unique microbial heirlooms from mother to child.

From Nautilus

These online communities are establishing familial bonds between strangers.

From The Daily Beast

Most women interviewed, regardless of age, race, or background have some deep familial connection to church.

From The Daily Beast

Yes, Klein was an actual victim of documented abuse, whereas the only crime against Victoria was familial negligence.

From The Daily Beast

A Highly Unlikely Scenario is about just that:  Familial wisdom and love lost and found and shared anew, finally, conquering all.

From The Daily Beast

Companies will need to accommodate as well the new familial arrangements that Millennials are likely to seek out.

From The Daily Beast

In the middle of the night, she called upon her familial-spirit to carry her to Lucifer.

From Project Gutenberg

Again it struck me that they bore a familial kinship to a variety that occurred on the plain.

From Project Gutenberg

There are, moreover, varying strains of spirochetes which differ in virulence, or there are familial idiosyncrasies.

From Project Gutenberg

He'd clap his hand upon my shoulder and cuss me as familial and neighbourly as if he'd been a common chap.

From Project Gutenberg

Yport lies between, and is what the French call a petit bain familial.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• genetic