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
Derived 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.
Interestingly, parental gut microbiomes did not appear to influence these birth-related epigenetic changes.
From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026
Central and local government officials have tried with limited success in recent years to incentivise marriage and childbirth, from launching dating apps to boosting child-rearing allowances and subsidising parental leave.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
EMDR’s growing acceptance reflects the understanding that most any kind of early life anguish, from benign neglect or financial stress to parental alcoholism, can have the same impact as a horrific combat experience.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Unburdened by the gravitational pull of parental expectations or affection, the alleged weirdo is free to find her way to happiness by whatever means she sees fit.
From Salon • May 20, 2026
Acting and looking older, and being highly intelligent, Lombardy treated Bobby in a parental and nurturing way.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
