as in genetic
genetically passed or capable of being passed from parent to offspring
eye and hair color are hereditary
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Recent Examples of hereditary
The newborn screening program for early identification of hereditary diseases, one of the most successful public health programs in United States, was introduced more than 60 years ago.
—
Dr. Bilal Hameed, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2025
Thus began my lifelong affiliation with dogs, which continues to this day in the person of Charley, paradoxically named not for me but for a previous Charley dog who showed up halfway down a lineage of canine hereditary succession.
—Charles Hammer, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2025
The Aga Khan Foundation announced on its website that Karim Al-Hussaini, the 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, died on Tuesday in Portugal, surrounded by his family.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Although there is nothing uncommon about autocrats passing power to their children, Iran is a Shiite theocracy, and traditional Shiite philosophy strongly condemns hereditary rule.
—Akbar Ganji, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hereditary
Dr. Bilal Hameed, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2025
Thus began my lifelong affiliation with dogs, which continues to this day in the person of Charley, paradoxically named not for me but for a previous Charley dog who showed up halfway down a lineage of canine hereditary succession.
—Charles Hammer, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2025
The Aga Khan Foundation announced on its website that Karim Al-Hussaini, the 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, died on Tuesday in Portugal, surrounded by his family.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Although there is nothing uncommon about autocrats passing power to their children, Iran is a Shiite theocracy, and traditional Shiite philosophy strongly condemns hereditary rule.
—Akbar Ganji, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hereditary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hereditary
Adjective
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Investigators then used investigative genetic genealogy, a forensic field combining DNA analysis with genealogical research, to connect that sample to Kohberger’s family, according to prosecutors.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN,
7 Mar. 2025
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Those recommendations include protocols for embryo transfers and genetic testing.—
Doc Louallen,
ABC News,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Unquestionably, left-wing, woke, and pretentiously out-of-touch artists dominate these forms, but there is nothing inherent in the forms themselves that says this must be so.—
Peter Tonguette,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
14 Mar. 2025
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In his life, there is one thread that binds all chapters: Thor’s electrifying positivity that vexes all pessimists and his inherent ability to connect with others.—
Tyler Shepherd,
USA TODAY,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Our vision is that the future of design will have a long lasting inheritable quality.—
Sydney Gore,
Architectural Digest,
6 Feb. 2025
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In Germany, courts ruled that Facebook had to give a deceased person’s family access to their account, saying that digital accounts should be treated as inheritable property, like a bank account or house.—
Patrick van Esch,
The Conversation,
8 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hereditary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hereditary. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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