kinsmen

noun

plural of kinsman
as in cousins
a person connected with another by blood or marriage to protect the family honor, he sought to revenge the murder of his kinsman

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of kinsmen But the chief’s kinsmen failed to honor his request. — Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025 Records of public meetings and community newspapers feature jabs at how far these sorry kinsmen have strayed from their heritage. — Eythana Miller, The Dial, 23 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kinsmen
  1. cousins
  2. relatives
  3. relations
Noun
  • Jacinto found out the truth about his work after becoming suspicious of some of the girls who would accompany his cousins to their home.
    — Michael Rios, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
  • Love, 85, co-founded the Beach Boys in 1961 with cousins Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, and friend Al Jardine.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026
Definition of cousins
Noun
  • Stay out of the sun, and make sure to check up on relatives and neighbors.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 6 July 2026
  • With no electricity or phone signal, many have struggled to find news of relatives in the affected areas.
    — Catherine Ellis, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
Definition of relatives
Noun
  • Emily Brontë’s telling of this narrative premise was, also, far ahead of its time, unadorned, stripped bare, always in immediate reach of the brutal facts of her characters’ relations and complications with each other.
    — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Runcie is sharply attuned to the vast uncomfortable grey areas of gender and power relations, navigating them with wry, revelatory observations that are devastatingly acute.
    — Gabrielle Bellot, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
Definition of relations

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Cite this Entry

“Kinsmen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kinsmen. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on kinsmen

Nglish: Translation of kinsmen for Spanish Speakers

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