filial
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter.
filial obedience.
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noting or having the relation of a child to a parent.
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Genetics. pertaining to the sequence of generations following the parental generation, each generation being designated by an F followed by a subscript number indicating its place in the sequence.
adjective
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of, resembling, or suitable to a son or daughter
filial affection
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F. genetics designating any of the generations following the parental generation; F 1 indicates the first filial generation, F 2 the second, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of filial
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin fīliālis, equivalent to Latin fīli ( us ) son + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
If you describe something as filial, you're saying it's offspring-related. Depending on who your parents are, your filial duties might include taking out the trash, washing dishes, or ruling empires. The word filial comes from the Latin words filius, which means "son," and filia, or "daughter." In other words, filial is the filius of filius. One way of remembering the word is to think of a filly, a young horse. The two words aren't related, but it's fun to put them in the same sentence: "The filly's filial love made the mare a happy horse."
Vocabulary lists containing filial
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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It's All in the Family
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
As Hyllus, the son of Hercules and Dejanira, David Portillo was similarly impressive, his bright, easy tenor and excellent diction assets in his ardent filial devotion and wooing of Iole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
To embody the idea of filial piety to appeal to the Grand Queen Dowager, Yeon creates doenjang-guk, a traditional soybean paste stew, but adds two special ingredients: spinach and clams.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2025
Boonnitipat merges that desperation with the filial duty ingrained in Thai society.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025
For generations, China has relied on filial piety to fill the gaps in elderly care.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2024
When his uncle came again Wang Lung cried out, “Even filial piety will not feed my house!” and he sent his uncle empty away.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
