kinship

noun

kin·​ship ˈkin-ˌship How to pronounce kinship (audio)
: the quality or state of being kin : relationship

Examples of kinship in a Sentence

He feels a strong kinship with other survivors of the war. feelings of kinship between the team's players and their fans
Recent Examples on the Web In fact, what director, creator, and writer Issa Lopez built is an intrepid and unapologetic character study about the power, compassion, and kinship of Indigenous women. Caroline Reilly, Glamour, 9 Feb. 2024 Traditional practices First day Visit family: The oldest and most senior family members will be visited in order to strengthen family kinship. Kurt Snibbe, Orange County Register, 8 Feb. 2024 The defense argued his nephews fall outside the definitions of kinship set by California’s domestic violence laws. Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Made between 2021 and 2023, the portraits explore the emotional complexities of kinship, according to the museum's website. Claudia Levens, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 The feeling of community and kinship and support was really beautiful and something that can feel so rare on a show as big as this one. Caroline Reilly, Glamour, 9 Feb. 2024 As if that alone did not crystallize the kinship between the titans of the new Gilded Age and those of the original one, Buffett had much earlier encouraged Gates on his philanthropic path by giving him a copy of Carnegie’s The Gospel of Wealth. Mark Malloch-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 15 Jan. 2024 Despite Sylvia’s deep emotional wounds and Saul’s mental health and memory issues, the two find an odd and comforting kinship. Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 27 Dec. 2023 This is perhaps the most beautiful thing literature can do: forge a kinship across identities, freed from partisanship, unbound by space or time. Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kinship.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see kin entry 1

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kinship was in 1833

Dictionary Entries Near kinship

Cite this Entry

“Kinship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kinship. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

kinship

noun
kin·​ship ˈkin-ˌship How to pronounce kinship (audio)
: the quality or state of being kin : relationship

More from Merriam-Webster on kinship

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!