parental
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.relating to a parent or the role of being a parent.
adj.pertaining to or characteristic of a parent. Often used in formal or legal contexts to describe rights, responsibilities, or biological origin.
Simple“The school requires parental consent before students can go on the field trip.”
In context“The court's primary concern was the child's welfare, leading to a strict evaluation of both parties' parental fitness during the custody hearing.”
SynonymsmotherlyfatherlyAntonymsfilial - 02 C1 Advanced
adj.acting like a kind parent by being caring and protective.
adj.befitting a parent; expressing the tenderness, affection, or protective nature associated with parenthood.
Simple“He felt a parental urge to protect his younger colleagues from the difficult manager.”
In context“She watched over her students with a parental eye, ensuring they felt supported through the stresses of their final examinations.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
adj.relating to the original plants or animals that produce a new generation.
adj.relating to the generation of organisms that produce a hybrid or offspring. Used specifically to distinguish the original pair from the resulting generations.
Simple“The parental plants both had red flowers, but the offspring were pink.”
In context“In genetic experiments, the parental generation is crossed to observe how specific traits are inherited by the subsequent filial generations.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
n.a person who acts as a parent, even if they are not the biological mother or father.
n.a person fulfilling a parental role or function. This usage is less common than the adjective form and often appears in sociological or psychological texts.
Simple“The study looked at how the presence of a stable parental affects a child's development.”
In context“The researcher argued that any consistent parental, regardless of biological relation, provides the necessary emotional scaffolding for a toddler's growth.”
Usage parental leave
“Parental consent and professional assessment is generally required for children to receive gender-affirming care, including hormone treatment or “puberty blockers”.”
“And there's those two additional weeks of parental leave that's also usable until the child turns eight.”
From Middle French parental, from Latin parentālis, from parens (“parent”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.