kin

The word "kin" is used when talking about family members.

• When the police found the body of the man who was missing, they tried to contact the next of kin.
• Donna has a lot of kin living in Tennessee.
• Our family always thought of our next door neighbor as kin. He wasn’t related to us, but he seemed like he was part of the family.
• Most of Nataliya’s kin live in Ukraine.
• Many American can still find distant kinfolk who live in Europe.

There are two words that use "kin" to form adjectives: "akin" and "kindred." Both of these words mean that something is related or similar to something else.

• The actions that he took at the company he worked for were akin to theft.
• This wine seems closely akin to the wine we were getting in Europe. (The two wines seem similar.)
• Joe and Helen are kindred spirits. (The have similar ideas, beliefs, attitudes, etc.)

The word "kinship" is used when a relationship is strongly felt:

• Maria discovered a kinship with the Mexican people when she made her first visit to Mexico to visit her grandmother.
• The feeling of kinship in the family seemed to fall apart as one by one, they all moved away to separate and distant locations.

Click here to learn more words.

September 11, 2013