How to Use avuncular in a Sentence

avuncular

adjective
  • Gloom regards me as a warm and avuncular presence in his life.
    — Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 3 June 2024
  • Park ambled over, hands behind his back in an avuncular pose.
    — Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Muscle-baring tank top or avuncular, chunky knit sweater?
    — Charlotte Triggs, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The boss seemed avuncular and boyish, easy to laugh and apt to joke, nibbling his nails and shifting in his chair.
    — Time, 25 Jan. 2018
  • Charles Koch’s avuncular, aw-shucks persona masks his true nature.
    — Christopher Leonard, Time, 26 Sep. 2019
  • Schumer was in his usual avuncular style, his reading glasses firmly perched on his nose.
    — Erik Maza, Town & Country, 14 Mar. 2019
  • The priest looks on, his elbow on the counter, avuncular and affectionate.
    — Peter Van Agtmael, Magazine, 8 Dec. 2020
  • Through it all, the avuncular scientist maintained his sense of humor.
    — Andrea Stone, Culture, 27 Dec. 2021
  • Pitch-perfect at the podium, avuncular and gracious with the mid-show interviews.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2021
  • Bill Quill — his eyes ice-blue and his avuncular face framed by wisps of gray hair — took me on a tour of the place the other afternoon.
    — Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Mar. 2018
  • But then there’s the show itself, which is so strange and ill-conceived and ill-timed that not even Carell’s avuncular bonhomie can save it.
    — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 May 2020
  • Now in his fifties, Koze is approaching an age when people might rightly describe him as avuncular.
    — Sam Davies, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2025
  • The father of Levy’s baby had been a rich friend who’d agreed to help provide for the child and be an avuncular presence in his life.
    — Michelle Goldberg, Slate Magazine, 10 Apr. 2017
  • Gagliardo himself, an avuncular man in a Polo shirt, tours you through his spartan cellars.
    — Alex Postman, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2017
  • The photos appeared to show quite a lot of tactile, light-hearted banter of the avuncular variety.
    — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 10 July 2023
  • The avuncular musician known as Calvin ii plucks a guitar like a front-porch elder; the vibe is happy, peaceful.
    — Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018
  • This avuncular, down-for-anything attitude has been part of Giamatti’s charm for a long while.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Walz is all avuncular, with his can-I-help-shovel-your-walk approachability and good cheer.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024
  • The idea of the avuncular Corbyn as a potential leader was a joke that even May would laugh at during her stump speeches.
    — Tim Ross, Bloomberg.com, 9 June 2017
  • The show clearly won’t be the same without his authoritative and avuncular presence.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023
  • Piker treats fans in a way that can be confusingly intimate, giving them avuncular life advice one minute and thirst-trap photos the next.
    — Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Doubleday was cast as the avuncular, free-spending fop, while Wilpon was portrayed as a cheap taskmaster who refused to spend big on players.
    — David Waldstein, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2020
  • The memes are clearly invested in portraying Kennedy as an avuncular, larger-than-life cartoon hero.
    — Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Some of that is touched on in the friendly advice of an avuncular prisoner, played by rapper Nas, who is also on the producing team.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2018
  • An early host was the avuncular Percy Thrower, who showed up in a starched shirt and tie, and dispensed guidance while puffing on a pipe.
    — Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2021
  • At 69, Hekmatyar cuts an avuncular and scholarly figure, but his name still strikes fear and horror here.
    — Washington Post, 21 May 2017
  • Thank goodness Waters got to appear, because his regal, avuncular presence classed up the program to no small degree.
    — Morgan Enos, Billboard, 7 Apr. 2018
  • But even the avuncular Peltz cannot outrun his own track record forever as Disney shareholders make their choices.
    — Steven Tian, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2023
  • Biden’s time in the office actually helped burnish a goofy charm; he was seen not just as folksy or avuncular but, in some corners, paradoxically cool.
    — Paul McAdory, New York Times, 6 June 2023
  • Hackett instead cut an avuncular figure in a cardigan sweater vest, sat quietly and a bit hunched over on a tall chair, and shared his vision of the future of transportation.
    — Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avuncular.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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