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.

Most grew up in religious or at least morally serious families.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Young families have always flocked to Hartford’s suburbs for more land and good schools, but competing for a house was hardly the norm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Still, hundreds of families sat out under mild, cloudy skies, picnicking amid sweeping views of the snow-capped Alborz mountains -- a postcard scene at odds with a city under regular attack.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

The BBC has discovered Bush also kept more than 1,000 items, including love letters, baby clothes and treasured possessions belonging to the dead and their families.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

The leaders explain that many families don’t have electricity and we may need to teach some of our classes in the evenings after they’re done with the farmwork.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar