# hereditary

/hɝˈɛdəˌtɛɹi/ (US) · /hɪɹˈɛdɪtəɹi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hereditary
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. biological traits

adjective · CEFR B2

passed from a parent to a child through their genes.

For teachers: relating to the genetic transmission of physical or mental characteristics from parents to offspring.

- The doctor asked if there was a hereditary history of heart disease in his family.
- Researchers are investigating whether certain behavioral patterns are truly hereditary or simply the result of a shared domestic environment.

### 2. titles and ranks

adjective · CEFR B2 · Formal

passed to a child or relative after a person dies, usually referring to a title like 'King' or 'Lord'.

For teachers: descending by inheritance; describing a title, office, or right legally granted to a descendant upon the death of the holder.

- In some countries, the position of head of state is a hereditary role.
- The reform act significantly reduced the number of hereditary peers permitted to sit and vote in the upper house of parliament.

### 3. mathematical properties

adjective · CEFR C2 · Technical

a special property in math where if a large group has a rule, all smaller parts inside it must also have that rule.

For teachers: describing a property of a structure such that every substructure of a given type also possesses that property.

- The professor explained that being a planar graph is a hereditary property.
- In graph theory, a class of graphs is hereditary if it is closed under taking induced subgraphs.

### 4. a person with an inherited title

noun · CEFR C1 · British English · Formal

a person who holds a high rank or position because their parents held it before them.

For teachers: an individual who holds a title, rank, or seat in a legislative body by right of inheritance rather than election.

- The new law changed how many hereditaries could stay in the government.
- The debate centered on whether the hereditaries should retain their historical right to influence modern legislation.

## Examples

- The doctor asked if the heart condition was hereditary.
- In some countries, the position of head of state is a hereditary role passed down through the royal family.
- While some traits are purely environmental, many chronic conditions have a hereditary component that increases the statistical likelihood of a diagnosis if a biological parent was also affected.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.