sonless
Definition
Adjective: - Lacking a male child: "sonless" describes a person, especially a parent, who does not have a son (a male offspring).
Usage Examples
- (The king had no male heir to inherit his kingdom.)
- (A family without a son may experience societal expectations.)
Advanced Usage
- "to be left sonless": to have no surviving male children, often due to death or other circumstances.
- After the war, many families were left sonless, grieving their lost sons. (Many families had no surviving male children.)
Variants and Related Words
- Son (n): a male child or descendant.
- He is the eldest son in the family. (He is the first-born male child.)
- Sonless (adj): the exact word being explained; no common variants exist beyond this form.
Synonyms
- Childless (regarding sons): lacking sons specifically, though "childless" generally means without any children.
- Heirless: lacking an heir, often implying no son to inherit (used in formal contexts like royalty or property).
Related Idioms
- "No son to carry on the name": an idiomatic expression describing the situation of being sonless, especially in cultures where family lineage is passed through male offspring.
- He felt disappointed because he had no son to carry on the family name. (He lacked a male child to continue the family legacy.)