HEREDITY Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

heredity

noun

Definition of heredity

as in blood

formal the natural process by which physical and mental qualities are passed from a parent to a child Heredity plays no part in the disease.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of heredity His second album, Baby—a meditation on heredity, shredded and reconstituted in a $10 DJ program—was released to rapturous acclaim in August. — Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 8 Dec. 2025 To truly understand genes and heredity, researchers had to learn to read the DNA code. — Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025 In short, heredity advancement driven by desire. — D. Scott Schmid, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025 For people who are profoundly deaf, there is an interruption of the sound signal to the auditory nerve, which can be caused by illness, trauma, or heredity. — IEEE Spectrum, 27 Jan. 2022 See All Example Sentences for heredity

Recent Examples of Synonyms for heredity

Noun

Kevin McCarthy captured a spectacular view as the eclipsed moon shone blood red in the skies over North Carolina, after a brief weather scare!

— Anthony Wood, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2026
But unlike these flesh-and-blood examples, Miss Piggy doesn’t experience the discrimination of aging.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of blood

Noun

Students who had completed Ramapo’s investigative genetic genealogy certificate program volunteered to research the case and identified Krusely as a candidate in December 2025, according to the college.

— Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
The scientists’ method reconstructs genealogies, or maps showing where different pieces of DNA came from and how they were passed down, revealing branches of our evolutionary past.

— Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of genealogy

Noun

His attempt to discover what he is supposed to be doing propels him through a succession of increasingly strange encounters, as his search for purpose becomes entangled with his desire for love, friendship and some kind of place in the world.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
The Norwegian Constitution was altered in 1990 to allow future firstborns — regardless of gender — to take precedence in the line of succession.

— Jan M. Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of succession

Noun

The estate includes a historic mansion, numerous secondary residences, and extensive Thoroughbred breeding and training facilities.

— Mark David, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2026
The raptors’ breeding population peaked at around 30 breeding pairs in the mid-1950s, decreasing to zero in 1974, before rising to up to 13 pairs in the late 2000s, according to BTO.

— Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of breeding

Noun

Richard Gere’s Life Now The actor moved to his wife’s home country of Spain with their two sons at the end of 2024 so Silva could be closer to her relatives.

— Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
One day, her teen-age daughter, on the way to choir practice, witnessed ICE detaining someone outside her bus; Bre sent her children to stay with relatives in the suburbs.

— Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of relatives

Noun

According to Census data taken between 2019 and 2023, the number of residents of Italian ancestry in Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and the Columbia Waterfront District was down 25 percent over the previous 13 years.

— Rachel Corbett, Curbed, 31 Aug. 2026
But Shanes questioned whether grouping Jews under a single ethnic category would produce sufficiently specific data for those purposes, or instead obscure differences among Jewish populations with distinct ancestries.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestry

Noun

These folks include my sister, two brothers and a beloved SIL, all who’ve been a loving part of our 41-year-old’s life since birth.

— R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
These counties have no hospitals or birth centers providing obstetric care, and no obstetric clinician.

— Kayley Corley, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of birth

Noun

In our efforts to reciprocate with some updates about our family, the wife would interject within a sentence or two of our contribution to hijack the conversation back to talking about her family.

— R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2026
The role of companies Singapore’s new scheme shifts from merely encouraging births to focus on family well-being over the long term, which might help change how potential parents think about children.

— Angelica Ang, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of family

Browse Nearby Words

heredities

heredity

hereinbelow

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“Heredity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heredity. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of heredity

noun

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