parental
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a parent.
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proper to or characteristic of a parent.
parental feelings.
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having the relation of a parent
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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.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to a parent or parenthood
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genetics designating the first generation in a line, which gives rise to all succeeding (filial) generations
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some states in recent years have passed laws seeking to address problematic youth use of social media, including banning smartphone in schools and requiring parental consent for minors to create accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
States also claim Meta committed unfair business practices by letting users create multiple Instagram accounts, which they say allows kids to circumvent parental controls and rules barring children under age of 13 from creating accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Patel worked for San Francisco's Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, which became the first local government in the US to pass a law requiring employers to provide paid parental leave.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
And yet, we’re the first generation to receive a formal advisory on parental stress from the surgeon general.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Then I talk to her about Kareem, who is the parental dream of suitability.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions 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.
