- family
- noun1 group of people related to each otherADJECTIVE▪ big, large▪ entire, whole▪
a summer movie for the whole family
▪ close, close-knit▪We are a very close-knit family and support each other through any crises.
▪ happy, loving, supportive▪ dysfunctional▪The movie is a portrait of a dysfunctional family.
▪ nuclear, traditional▪the nuclear family of parents and children
▪ average▪ immediate▪We've only told the immediate family (= the closest relations).
▪ extended▪It was difficult to maintain contact with members of his extended family.
▪ lone-parent (BrE), one-parent, single-parent▪the difficulties faced by one-parent families
▪ two-parent▪ adoptive▪They help find emotionally damaged children placements with adoptive families.
▪ real▪ patriarchal▪ military▪She grew up in a military family.
▪ working▪ middle-class, working-class, etc.▪ low-income, middle-income▪ old▪ aristocratic, imperial, noble, royal▪ powerful, prominent▪ affluent, landowning, rich, wealthy, well-to-do▪ poor▪tax incentives for low-income families
▪ homeless▪ bereaved▪a helpline set up to counsel bereaved families
▪ human▪the rights of all members of the human family
VERB + FAMILY▪ belong to, be one of, be part of, come from▪He belonged to an aristocratic family.
▪We all knew her so well that we felt she was almost part of the family.
▪Many of our students come from poor families.
▪ marry into▪She married into a wealthy family.
▪ run in▪a medical condition which runs in the family
▪ be in▪This painting has been in our family for generations.
FAMILY + NOUN▪ background, history▪Do you know anything about her family background?
▪a family history of heart disease
▪ tradition▪In 1941 he carried on the family tradition and enlisted in the army.
▪ connections, relationships, ties▪They prefer to stay in their home country because of family ties.
▪ group, member▪ friend▪ life▪ business▪ home▪ commitments▪The job wouldn't really fit in with my family commitments.
▪ income▪ doctor (esp. BrE), physician (AmE)▪ holiday (BrE), vacation (AmE)▪ feud▪ heirloom▪ motto▪ name (= surname)▪ planningPREPOSITION▪ in a/the family▪These problems occur in all families.
▪ within a/the family▪issues which create conflict within the family
PHRASES▪ family and friends▪The support of family and friends is vital.
▪ a member of a family2 childrenADJECTIVE▪ large, small▪ young▪parents with young families
VERB + FAMILY▪ have▪I always wanted to have a large family.
▪ start▪They got married last year and plan to start a family (= have children) soon.
▪ bring up, raise▪It's a struggle to bring up a family on a low income.
▪ feed, support▪It is difficult for them to earn enough to feed their families.
FAMILY + NOUN▪ size▪Average family size has decreased since the 19th century.
▪ man▪a good family man, completely devoted to his wife and kids
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
