hereditary

/həˈredɪtəri/

adjective

  1. passed from parents to their children through genes.

    B2
    • "Some hereditary diseases can be detected early."B2
    • "The doctor asked whether anyone in my family had a hereditary condition."C1

  2. passed down within a family, especially a title, position, or right.

    C1
    • "Many monarchies have hereditary succession."B2
    • "The position was hereditary and remained in the same family for centuries."C1

Common mistakes

  • hereditary from my mother→inherited from my mother

    Use hereditary for a trait or condition that can be passed through genes; use inherited for something received from a parent.

Collocations

hereditary diseasehereditary conditionhereditary traithereditary titlehereditary succession

Word family

heredityinheritinheritedinheritance