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.

See Examples For:

lineal

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

Archival documents they found also mention a wife and child—meaning Voorhees could have unidentified lineal descendants living today who could claim his remains.

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 23, 2024

"Earning the opportunity to be an undisputed lineal champion is something most fighters only dream about but becoming the first boxer from Puerto Rico to be an undisputed champion would make it even more special."

From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2023

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

lineal

Example Sentences

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Related Words