avuncular
adjective
Craig UngerP. G. Wodehouse
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The Origin of Avuncular Is Familial
Not all uncles are likeable fellows (Hamlet's villainous Uncle Claudius, for example, isn't exactly Mr. Nice Guy in Shakespeare's tragedy), but avuncular reveals that, as a group, uncles are often seen as friendly and kindhearted. Avuncular comes from the Latin noun avunculus, which means "maternal uncle," but since at least the 19th century English speakers have used avuncular to describe uncles from either side of the family, or people who are uncle-like in character or behavior. Avunculus is also an ancestor of the word uncle itself.
Examples of avuncular in a Sentence
Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Parenthood is a fraught experience for just about every character, from Sam Neill’s veteran chief ranger, Paul, an avuncular figure who’s endlessly indulgent of his adult daughter, to Vazquez, who is on the run with her 4-year-old son from the boy’s father.
—Judy Berman, Time, 17 July 2025
Although famously good-natured and avuncular, unlike the mercurial genius that is the movie’s subject, Linklater is in many ways just the right Austin dude to take on the French New Wave’s revolutionary spirit of cinematic invention.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2025
Dyer, too, can riff endlessly in this mode, frothing and fretting like some avuncular combination of Thomas Bernhard and Martin Amis.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for avuncular
Cite this Entry
“Avuncular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avuncular. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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