avuncular

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈvʌŋkjələr/ UK /əˈvʌŋkjʊlə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
kind and genial in the manner of an uncle

The old professor gave avuncular advice to the freshmen.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · kind and genial in the... uncle-likegenial kindly benevolent affable paternal fatherly

Opposites

aloof cold stern unfriendly

Word family

Derived forms avuncularityavuncularly

Related forms uncle

Simplified etymology

Avuncular entered English in the mid-19th century through Old French from Latin avunculus, meaning “uncle on the mother’s side.” It shares its origin with uncle.

Etymology

From Latin avunculus ('maternal uncle', literally 'little grandfather'), a diminutive of avus ('grandfather'), + -ar.

avunculus Latin avus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# avuncular

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /əˈvʌŋkjələr/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈvʌŋkjʊlə/

## Meanings
1. kind and genial in the manner of an uncle

## Examples
- The old professor gave avuncular advice to the freshmen.

## Synonyms
- uncle-like
- genial
- kindly
- benevolent
- affable
- paternal
- fatherly

## Antonyms
- aloof
- cold
- stern
- unfriendly

## Derived Forms
- avuncularity
- avuncularly

## Related Forms
- uncle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: avunculus
- Root: avus

## Etymology
From Latin avunculus ('maternal uncle', literally 'little grandfather'), a diminutive of avus ('grandfather'), + -ar.

## AI Etymology
Avuncular is from Latin avunculus ('maternal uncle', literally 'little grandfather'), a diminutive of avus ('grandfather'), + -ar. Important recorded forms include avunculus (Latin) and avus (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers kind and genial in the manner of an uncle. The wider family includes derived forms such as avuncularity and avuncularly and related words such as uncle.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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