Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Related by blood: Sharing a biological connection through common ancestry, such as being parent and child, siblings, or other direct familial lineage. This term emphasizes a genetic relationship, as opposed to relationships formed through marriage or adoption.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • They are blood-related, so they share many physical traits. (They are connected by biological descent, which explains their similar appearance.)
  • Only blood-related relatives were invited to the private family reunion. (The event was exclusive to those with a genetic family connection.)

Advanced Usage

• Legal and Medical Contexts: The term is often used in legal documents (e.g., wills, custody cases) and medical histories to specify biological relationships, which can be crucial for determining inheritance or genetic health risks.
  • The court required proof that they were blood-related before considering the inheritance claim.
• Emphasis on Biological Connection: Used to distinguish from in-laws, step-relatives, or adoptive family members.
  • She has a close bond with her stepbrother, even though they are not blood-related.

Variants and Related Words

• Consanguineous (adj): A more formal, often technical term meaning related by blood or having a common ancestor.
  • Consanguineous marriages are those between blood relatives.
• Biological relative (n phrase): A person to whom one is related by blood.
  • Her biological relatives were located through a DNA test.

Synonyms

• Genetic: Pertaining to genes or heredity.
• Kin: One's family and relations (can include both blood and non-blood relations, but context often specifies).

Antonyms

• Unrelated: Not connected by family ties.
• Adoptive: Related through legal adoption, not biology.
• Step-: Denoting a relationship resulting from a parent's remarriage (e.g., stepfather, stepsister).

Related Phrases

• Blood relation (n phrase): A person who is related to another by birth.
  • He is my closest blood relation.
• Blood is thicker than water (idiom): Suggests that family bonds (especially blood-related ones) are stronger than other relationships.
  • In the end, she helped her brother, proving that blood is thicker than water.

Adjective

1. related by blood