fatherless
Americanadjective
-
not having a living father.
a fatherless boy.
-
not having a known or legally responsible father.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of fatherless
before 1000; Middle English faderles, Old English fæderlēas. See father, -less
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.
His own son, Breck, is 14, and will soon be fatherless.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
That’s why he’d spent years mentoring a fatherless young man to help him find his way in the world.
From Slate • Apr. 27, 2025
"I'm disgusted that the Metropolitan Police will allow me to live fatherless for the rest of my life."
From BBC • Nov. 20, 2024
On one hand, boarding another boat could leave his wife a widow and his two children fatherless.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 18, 2023
Dragging her fatherless child from place to place, scraping by on menial jobs, justifying it by insisting to herself—by insisting to everyone—she was making Art.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
