stepfamily

[step-fam-uh-lee, -fam-lee]

noun

plural

stepfamilies 

1. a family composed of a parent, a stepparent, and a child or children by a previous marriage.

Word History and Origins

Origin of stepfamily¹

step- + family

Example Sentences

But Bran doesn’t desire revenge against her stepfamily.

From New York Times

My parents divorced when I was little and, as a kid, it bothered me that when I went to my father’s house, we had only grape jelly and white bread, presumably what my stepfamily preferred.

From Seattle Times

I thought it sounded like a fun idea — I don’t know my stepfamily well since my mother just got married to their father a year ago, but they’re very nice and I’d like to get to know them better.

From Washington Post

More importantly, it is an active choice and a deliberate non-reaction to her stepfamily’s cruelty, but it still has to be paired with more complex, scary actions before it’s effective in getting what she wants.

From Slate

A sheriff’s investigator testified that Mary Crocker was starved, beaten and kept bound and naked in a dog crate as punishment by her father and stepfamily before she died.

From Seattle Times