English Words for "Family and Relationships" | B2 Vocabulary

affair

noun

a

ə

ff

f

ai

ɛ

r

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a sexual relationship between two people in which at least one of them is already committed to someone else

Example

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She was heartbroken when she discovered her husband was having an affair with a colleague.

The scandalous affair between the politician and his assistant made headlines across the country.

household

noun

h

o

a

u

ʊ

s

e

h

o

oʊ

l

d

all the people living in a house together, considered as a social unit

divorce

noun

d

i

ɪ

v

o

ɔ

r

c

s

e

the legal act of ending a marriage

to divorce

Verb

d

i

ɪ

v

o

ɔ

r

c

s

e

to legally end a marriage

Grammatical Information:

intransitive

lineage

noun

l

i

ɪ

n

ea

iə

g

ʤ

e

the direct line of descent from a particular person

ancestor

noun

a

æ

n

c

s

e

ɛ

s

t

o

ɜ

r

a blood relative who lived a long time ago, usually before one's grandparents

descendant

ex

noun

e

ɛ

x

ks

the person one used to be married to or have a relationship with

extended family

noun

/ɛkstˈɛndᵻd fˈæmɪli/

a large family group consisting of parents and children that might also include grandparents, aunts, or uncles

Grammatical Information:

compound noun

folks

noun

f

o

oʊ

l

k

s

one's parents or family members in general

foster parent

noun

/fˈɑːstɚ pˈɛɹənt/

a person who takes someone else's child and raises them without legally becoming their parent

identical twin

noun

/aɪdˈɛntɪkəl twˈɪn/

either of two children or animals born from the same mother at the same time who are very similar in appearance

Grammatical Information:

compound noun

in-law

noun

/ɪnˈɫɔ/

a person who is related to someone by marriage

sibling

noun

s

i

ɪ

b

l

i

ɪ

n

g

one's brother or sister

stepbrother

noun

s

t

e

ɛ

p

b

r

o

ʌ

th

ð

e

ə

r

the son of one's stepfather or stepmother from a previous relationship

stepchild

noun

s

t

e

ɛ

p

ch

ʧ

i

aɪ

l

d

a child of one's husband or wife from a former marriage

stepdaughter

noun

s

t

e

ɛ

p

d

au

ɔ

gh

t

e

ɜ

r

the daughter of one's spouse from a past relationship

stepfather

noun

s

t

e

ɛ

p

f

a

ɑ

th

ð

e

ɜ

r

the man that is married to one's parent but is not one's biological father

stepmother

noun

s

t

e

ɛ

p

m

o

ə

th

ð

e

ɜ

r

the woman that is married to one's parent but is not one's biological mother

Grammatical Information:

compound noun

stepsister

noun

s

t

e

ɛ

p

s

i

ɪ

s

t

e

ɜ

r

the daughter of one's stepfather or stepmother from a previous relationship

stepson

noun

s

t

e

ɛ

p

s

o

ə

n

the son of one's spouse from a past relationship

separation

noun

s

e

ɛ

p

a

ɜ

r

a

eɪ

t

ʃ

io

ə

n

the state in which a couple decide to live apart while they are still legally married

adoption

noun

a

ə

d

o

ɑ

p

t

ʃ

io

ə

n

the act or fact of taking someone's child and growing them up, which has been approved by law

brotherly

Adjective

b

r

o

ə

th

ð

e

ɜ

r

l

y

i

showing a level of love or care that one would only expect a brother to have

sisterly

close-knit

Adjective

/klˈoʊsnˈɪt/

(of a group of people) having a strong friendly relationship with shared interests

to adopt

Verb

a

ə

d

o

ɑ

p

t

to take someone's child into one's family and become their legal parent

Grammatical Information:

transitive

to cheat on

Verb

/tʃˈiːt ˈɑːn/

to have a secret romantic or sexual relationship with someone other than one's own partner

Grammatical Information:

Phrasal Status

inseparable

phrase's verb

cheat

phrase's particle

on

to inherit

Verb

i

ɪ

n

h

e

ɛ

r

i

ə

t

to receive money, property, etc. from someone who has passed away

Grammatical Information:

transitive

to stand by

Verb

/stˈænd bˈaɪ/

to remain loyal to or supportive of someone, particularly during a hard time

Grammatical Information:

transitive

Phrasal Status

inseparable

phrase's verb

stand

phrase's particle

by

to take after

Verb

/tˈeɪk ˈæftɚ/

to look or act like an older member of the family, especially one's parents

Grammatical Information:

Phrasal Status

inseparable

phrase's verb

take

phrase's particle

after

to sing somebody to sleep

phrase

/sˈɪŋ ˌɛsbˈiː tə slˈiːp/

to sing softly in order to help someone fall asleep

closely related

phrase

/klˈoʊsli ɹɪlˈeɪɾᵻd/

having a near blood relationship or strong genetic connection

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You learned 31 words from Lesson 4. To improve learning and review vocabulary, start practicing.

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