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Definitions

lineal

[lin-ee-uhl] / ˈlɪn i əl /
ADJECTIVE
ancestral
Synonyms
STRONGEST
familial tribal
WEAK
affiliated born with congenital consanguine consanguineous genealogical in the family inborn inbred inherited innate maternal old past paternal running in the family totemic
ADJECTIVE
direct
Synonyms
STRONGEST
immediate person-to-person personal
STRONG
prompt succeeding
WEAK
contiguous firsthand head-on next primary proximate resultant
Antonyms
WEAK
changing deviating devious dishonest indirect intermittent interrupted varying wily
ADJECTIVE
hereditary
Synonyms
STRONGEST
genetic inborn transmitted
WEAK
ancestral bequeathed family genealogical handed-down heritable inbred inheritable inherited maternal paternal patrimonial traditional transmissible willed
Antonyms
STRONGEST
acquired
ADJECTIVE
patrimonial
Synonyms
WEAK
affiliated born with congenital consanguine consanguineous familial genealogical hereditary in the family inborn inbred inherited innate maternal old past paternal running in the family
ADJECTIVE
straight
Synonyms
STRONGEST
consecutive nonstop short smooth solid straightforward successive true
STRONG
beeline direct even horizontal invariable level perpendicular plumb right running square upright vertical
WEAK
collinear continuous erect in a line in a row in line inflexible like an arrow linear near precipitous rectilineal rectilinear sheer through unbent unbroken uncurled undeviating undistorted uninterrupted unrelieved unswerving
Antonyms
STRONGEST
broken incontinuous intermittent
STRONG
level uneven varying
WEAK
curved twisted

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.

The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, was a lineal descendant of the Marshall Plan and an embodiment of soft power.

From Salon • Aug. 16, 2025

Foreman knocked Frazier down six times in two rounds to become the WBA, WBC and lineal heavyweight champion.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2025

Such research can rediscover people’s names and families to possibly identify any living lineal descendants, as well as inform repatriation claims made by self-identified descendant communities.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 23, 2024

Some tribes ask potential members to show lineal descent, meaning an ancestor who was a registered member.

From Washington Post • Nov. 1, 2022

The Voyager spacecraft are the lineal descendants of those sailing-ship voyages of exploration, and of the scientific and speculative tradition of Christiaan Huygens.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.