families

[fam-uh-leez, fam-leez] / ˈfæm ə liz, ˈfæm liz /

NOUN

kin, offspring; classification

Synonyms

STRONGEST

clan folk group house household people tribe

STRONG

ancestors ancestry birth blood brood children class descendants descent dynasty extraction forebears genealogy generations genre in-laws inheritance issue kind kindred line lineage network parentage pedigree progenitors progeny race relations relationship relatives siblings strain subdivision system

WEAK

heirs and assigns kith and kin menage ménage

Antonyms

STRONG

parent

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.

By September, they claim, lawyers representing some of the families informed them they should cease direct contact, pending legal action.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Becky Alderton, experience manager at Best of Suffolk, said a break away was very important for families - and with the conflict causing uncertainty, it was seeing an increase in demand for its cottages.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who met families of the Rue des Rosiers victims last year, said he had promised them everything would be done to put the suspects on trial.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

But often, she said, they fear losing their jobs — or worse, having ICE called on them and being separated from their families.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

“But that’s what happened, and so we’ve lived all our lives in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and so this is where we belong now. It’s what we know. It’s where our families are.”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix