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Definition of "filial" []

  • Of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter: filial respect. (adjective)
  • Having or assuming the relationship of child or offspring to parent. (adjective)
  • Genetics Of or relating to a generation or the sequence of generations following the parental generation. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "filial" in a sentence
  • "As this dependence on the mother church may be of various degrees, the term filial church may have naturally more than one signification as to minor details."
  • "When followed by l the history of f was like that of c and g: the result for all three was a palatalized l which soon began to be represented by ll (approximate to li in English "filial": flamma, Span. llama, clamare, Span. llamar, etc.)."
  • "Fortunately, at least the Spanish Church has issued a nice communiqué in filial support of our great Benedict XVI."