fraternal Definition
fra·ter·nal (frə tʉr′nəl)
adjective
- of or characteristic of a brother or brothers; brotherly
- of or like a fraternal order or a fraternity
- designating twins, of either the same or different sexes, developed from separately fertilized ova and thus having hereditary characteristics not necessarily the same
Etymology: ME < ML fraternalis < L fraternus, brotherly < frater, brother
fraternal Related Forms
fra·ter′·nal·ism′ noun
fra·ter′·nally adverb
fraternal Synonyms
fraternal Usage Examples
Modifies a noun
- greeting: RMT General Secretary Bob Crow gave fraternal greetings from his union.
- twin: Willy Russell's Blood Brothers tells the story of fraternal twins who are separated at birth.
- delegate: Yet these fraternal delegates saw nothing, heard nothing, knew nothing.
- relation: Qatar's charge de affairs during the meeting expressed the deep fraternal relations between the two states.
- bond: A fraternal bond unites these finely-honed instruments of war.
- organization: The Knights of St Columba is the largest Catholic family fraternal service organization in the UK with eight thousand members.
Modifying Another Word
Browse dictionary entries near fraternal
- ‹ frater
- ‹ frat
- ‹ frass
- ‹ Fraser
- ‹ Frascati
- ‹ frappé
- ‹ frap
- ‹ Franz Josef Land
- ‹ Franz Josef I
- ‹ frantic

