B220 words · Upper-intermediate

Family & Friends vocabulary — B2

Family & Friends vocabulary for relationships once they get complicated, including upbringing, custody and acquaintance, covering loyalty, distance and drifting apart from people.

20 questions

Words in this set

upbringing
/ˈʌpˌbrɪŋɪŋ/
The way your parents cared for you and taught you to behave when you were young.
Example: She often talks about her strict upbringing in the countryside.
household
/ˈhaʊsˌhoʊld/
All the people who live together in one home, sharing meals and daily jobs.
Example: Everyone in our household takes a turn cooking dinner.
ancestor
/ˈænˌsɛstər/
A member of your family who lived a very long time ago.
Example: My ancestors worked on farms in the north.
nuclear family
A family made up of two parents and their children, without other relatives living in the same home.
Example: They live in a typical nuclear family of four.
blended family
A family formed when parents with children from earlier relationships start a new family together.
Example: After the wedding, the two households became one blended family.
immediate family
Your closest relatives, usually your parents, children, and brothers or sisters.
Example: Only immediate family were invited to the small ceremony.
dependant
A person, often a child or elderly relative, who relies on someone else for money or care.
Example: He lists his two children as dependants on his tax form.
custody
/ˈkʌstədi/
The legal right and responsibility to care for a child, especially after parents separate.
Example: The court gave the mother custody of both children.
biological
/ˌbaɪəˈlɑdʒɪkəl/
Describes a parent or child who is related by birth, not by adoption or marriage.
Example: She met her biological mother for the first time at thirty.
adoptive
/əˈdɑptɪv/
Describes a parent or family that has legally taken on a child who is not related to them by birth.
Example: His adoptive parents raised him from the age of two.
reunion
/riˈunjən/
A meeting of people who have not seen each other for a long time.
Example: Our school reunion is happening at the old sports hall.
acquaintance
/əˈkweɪntəns/
Someone you know a little, but who is not a close friend.
Example: He's just a business acquaintance, not a real friend.
loyal
/ˈlɔɪəl/
Always supporting the same person or group, even when things become difficult.
Example: She's a loyal friend who's never once let me down.
mutual
/ˈmjutʃuəl/
Shared by two people, or felt by both of them in the same way.
Example: We were introduced by a mutual friend at a wedding.
befriend
/bɪˈfrɛnd/
To become someone's friend, especially someone who was lonely or new.
Example: She befriended the new student on his first day.
companionship
/kəmˈpænjənˌʃɪp/
A friendly feeling of comfort that comes from spending time with someone.
Example: The dog gave her companionship after her husband died.
bond
/bɑnd/
A close connection that forms between people who trust and understand each other.
Example: They formed a strong bond during their years at university.
rekindle
/riˈkɪndəl/
To make an old friendship or feeling become strong again after it had faded.
Example: Meeting at the reunion helped them rekindle their old friendship.
reconnect
/rikəˈnɛkt/
To start talking to and spending time with someone again after a period of not being in contact.
Example: They reconnected years later through an old classmate.
drift apart
To gradually become less close to a friend over time, without any single argument causing it.
Example: After she moved away, the two of them slowly drifted apart.