parental

[puh-ren-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.

noun

1. Also called parental unit. Informal.,  one's parent.

   I'm headed for a vacation with the parentals.

Other Word Forms

• parentally adverb
• interparental adjective
• nonparental adjective
• nonparentally adverb
• postparental adjective
• unparental adjective
• unparentally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of parental¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin parentālis “of, belonging to parents,” equivalent to parent- “parent” + -ālis adjective suffix; parent, -al ¹

Example Sentences

This erasure of parental influence continued throughout the oral arguments.

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Labour lawyer Patrick Deale told state media that the judgment was "a positive and expected outcome" for parental rights in the country.

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The government has introduced 30 hours a week of funded childcare for working parents and is undertaking a review of parental leave.

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Any adult can raise concerns about a child's wellbeing with the local authority, including if there's a worry a child is being harmed by parental beliefs.

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The company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, launched new parental controls for teen accounts on Monday, a month after a California family filed a lawsuit alleging that its chatbot encouraged their son to take his life.

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Related Words

• fatherly 
• maternal 
• paternal