hereditary

/həˈredɪtri/ (bre, ipa) · /həˈredɪteri/ (ame, ipa) · /hə-ˈre-də-ˌter-ē/ (ame, mw)

hereditary — adjective

  • hereditarypositive
  • more hereditarycomparative
  • most hereditarysuperlative

1. Describes a physical feature, illness, or trait that a child receives biological

1.形容詞C1
釋義

Describes a physical feature, illness, or trait that a child receives biologically from a parent through the genes, so it tends to appear in several generations of the same family.

例句

Meera's doctor explained that her type of high blood pressure is hereditary and runs through her father's side.

predicative: be hereditary (medical condition)

Some forms of breast cancer are hereditary, so Nkechi's whole family agreed to take a genetic test.

collocation: hereditary cancer / hereditary disease

同義詞
  • genetic

    more technical; emphasises the gene-level mechanism rather than the family pattern

  • inherited

    broader; can describe one specific case rather than a general tendency

  • familial

    medical register; means 'running in the family' but does not always imply a known genetic cause

反義詞
  • acquired

    describes a condition picked up during life rather than inherited

  • environmental

    caused by surroundings or lifestyle, not by genes

文法句型

hereditary + noun (disease/condition/trait)

be hereditary

用法筆記

Object noun is typically a disease, condition, or biological trait (cancer, diabetes, blindness, hair colour). Distinguish from sense 2, which describes titles or property passed by legal right rather than biology.

常見錯誤

❌My new car is hereditary from my mother.
✅My new car was inherited from my mother.
💡'hereditary' describes traits or rights that pass between generations as a category; use 'inherited' for a specific object handed down.

2. Describes a title, position, or piece of property that, by law or long tradition

2.形容詞C1
釋義

Describes a title, position, or piece of property that, by law or long tradition, must go to the eldest son or daughter when the older holder dies — for example, a royal crown or a noble family's estate.

例句

In the United Kingdom, the throne is a hereditary position that passes to the monarch's eldest child.

attributive: hereditary position / hereditary throne

Aylin's grandfather held a hereditary seat in the House of Lords until the law was reformed.

collocation: hereditary seat / hereditary peer

同義詞
  • inherited

    broader; covers property passed in a will, not only titles fixed by law

  • ancestral

    stresses the long family history rather than the legal mechanism

  • dynastic

    specific to ruling families and royal lines

反義詞
  • elected

    chosen by vote rather than inherited at birth

  • appointed

    given by a higher authority rather than passed down in a family

文法句型

hereditary + noun (title/position/right)

用法筆記

Almost always attributive (before a noun: hereditary title, hereditary peer); rarely used predicatively. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about legal or social inheritance of rank and property, not biology.

常見錯誤

❌The president of the company is hereditary.
✅The role of company president in this family is hereditary.
💡the adjective describes the position itself being passed down by right, not the person currently holding it.