kinship
Americannoun
-
kinships
plural
-
the state or fact of being of kin; family relationship.
- Synonyms:
- connection
-
relationship by nature, qualities, etc.; affinity.
- Synonyms:
- bearing, connection
noun
-
blood relationship
-
the state of having common characteristics or a common origin
Synonym Usage
See relationship.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kinship
Explanation
Kinship is a family relationship. You might describe the wonderful, close kinship you have with your favorite cousin. Your kin is your family, so it's easy to see that kinship describes family bonds, like the kinship between members of the same Scottish clan or the kinship an uncle feels in the midst of a dozen crazy nieces and nephews. Kinship can also describe a close family-like relationship, like the kinship of the teachers at your school who have worked together for many years and who all care deeply about students and learning.
Vocabulary lists containing kinship
It's All in the Family
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Human Geography - Middle School
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Already closely tied to Guam by culture, kinship and trade, the majority of residents wanted to follow their neighbor’s path as a U.S. territory.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026
A new legal right to unpaid time off work after suffering a bereavement will cover step and half relatives, as well as foster, kinship care and adoptive relationships, the government has said.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
She points to the unspoken kinship that forms when Black fans who love heavier guitar music find each other in white-dominated crowds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
As such, when I saw that Crystal Palace had the lowest number of subscribers on its subreddit of any side in the league, I felt a natural kinship.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Perhaps they truly felt some kinship to the men who held the power of life and death over them.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Because the operations at most milk banks make it difficult for kinships to be traced, most religious scholars think that the banks "should be treated like breastfeeding," Ghaly says.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2021
The new research also revealed instances of remarkable continuity, kinships that spanned thousands of years.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2018
Dobyns has forged deep friendships in the Native-American medicine communities over the years, says Amos, kinships she has been generous enough to share with Amos.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 7, 2017
But other structures bear strong kinships in these animals, too.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2013
They have brought you some of the by-products of the study of verbal kinships.
From The Century Vocabulary Builder by Joseph M. (Joseph Morris) Bachelor
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
