fraternal

[ fruh-tur-nl ]

adjective

1. of or befitting a brother or brothers; brotherly.
2. of or being a society of men associated in brotherly union, as for mutual aid or benefit:

   a fraternal order; a fraternal association.

fraternal

/ frəˈtɜːnəl /

adjective

1. of or suitable to a brother; brotherly
2. of or relating to a fraternity
3. designating either or both of a pair of twins of the same or opposite sex that developed from two separate fertilized ova Compare identical

Derived Forms

• fraˈternalism, noun
• fraˈternally, adverb

Other Words From

• fra·ternal·ism noun
• fra·ternal·ly adverb
• inter·fra·ternal adjective
• inter·fra·ternal·ly adverb
• nonfra·ternal adjective
• nonfra·ternal·ly adverb
• prefra·ternal adjective
• prefra·ternal·ly adverb
• quasi-fra·ternal adjective
• quasi-fra·ternal·ly adverb
• unfra·ternal adjective
• unfra·ternal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fraternal¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin frātern ( us ) fraternal (derivative of frāter brother ) + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of fraternal¹

C15: from Latin frāternus , from frāter brother

Example Sentences

The club is described on its website as a “fraternal organization consisting of active and retired law enforcement officers who share a passion for riding motorcycles.”

From Los Angeles Times

The play builds to a fraternal standoff that Strong and Imperioli invest with the electricity of their TV work in “Succession” and “The Sopranos.”

From Los Angeles Times

The results were consistent across both identical and fraternal twin pairs.

From Science Daily

Its fraternal spirit reminded me of the blooper reels you’d see at the end of the Burt Reynolds movies made by director Hal Needham who, yes, began his career as a stunt double.

From Los Angeles Times

The investigators found that pairs of twins who had parents with higher levels of education and higher family incomes have similar results to each other, regardless of whether they were identical or fraternal.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• congenial
• friendly