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.

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; parent, -al ¹

Example Sentences

He continued to have full parental responsibility for her and she was raised by her father and her stepmother.

From BBC

The company said it is also building parental controls for its AI characters.

From The Wall Street Journal

Apple’s Screen Time parental controls, while not perfect, are easy enough to manage from an iPhone.

From The Wall Street Journal

But guidance published by trade body Ukie in 2023 said game companies must restrict players under 18 from purchasing loot boxes without parental consent.

From BBC

It remains true that medical interventions like hormone therapy still require parental consent.

From Salon

Related Words

• fatherly
• maternal
• paternal