as in cousin
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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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 kinsman Compared to Joshua Thompson and his kinsmen, the McAlberts of Canton were mere liegemen in the local hackerama. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 24 Aug. 2025 Our family grew—from the three siblings left in the wake of our mother’s death—to a bustling bunch of kinsmen redeemers. James T. Farmer, Southern Living, 8 July 2025 Rediscovering his family’s ancestral land centuries after the religious wars forced those kinsmen to flee, our caballero soon steps in to protect a local clan from an oppressive landowner and his abusive henchmen. Ben Croll, Variety, 20 Sep. 2024 At the time of President Lincoln's assassination, my father was in Washington visiting his kinsman, Col. Thomas M. Vincent, who was on the staff of the Adjutant General. Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 3 Sep. 2020 Women were rewarded for refusing to shelter men, including kinsmen, who were involved in the genocide, and for testifying against their rapists. Rania Abouzeid, National Geographic, 15 Oct. 2019 Their kinsmen, already in the United States, have been vital factors in farm and workshop for generations. Lily Rothman, Time, 20 June 2018 The warriors butchered the people and used the heads of Lewis’s kinsmen as decoration for their belts. Emily Bernard, The New Republic, 19 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kinsman
Noun
  • After the eighth-generation jeweler Munnu Kasliwal died in 2012, his son Siddharth took over, and today runs the business alongside his brother, cousins, and uncle.
    Gayatri Shah, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2025
  • That unusually low resonance makes nuclear clocks uniquely suited to timekeeping at the nuclear scale, and sets them apart from their atomic cousins.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • First responders were called to the home of Uvalde Regional District Director Regina Santos-Aviles, 35, on Saturday night after a relative found her on fire outside her house.
    Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 18 Sep. 2025
  • The app gives owners the option to connect with the owners of their canine's relative, to exchange information about their pets or schedule a playdate.
    Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Kinsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kinsman. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.

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