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# hereditary

«hereditary» in Mova's school dictionary: **Hereditary describes a feature or illness that is passed…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (hereditary)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (science) Hereditary describes a feature or illness that is passed from parents to children through genes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#m1)

2) Hereditary describes a title, job or right that is passed down in a family from parent to child, like a crown. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons it goes with inheritance and genes: eye colour, freckles and some illnesses are hereditary. In history and politics, kings, queens and some lords hold hereditary titles; the UK House of Lords used to have many hereditary peers. Phrases: «hereditary disease», «hereditary title», «hereditary monarchy».

### examples

- Freckles are often hereditary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#x1)
- The doctor asked if the illness was hereditary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#x2)
- The UK has a hereditary monarchy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#x3)
- His grandfather had a hereditary title as a lord. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#x4)
- Being left-handed is partly hereditary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#x5)
- Some hereditary diseases can be tested for before birth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/#x6)

### note

Adjective. Pronounced «huh-RED-ih-tree» or «huh-RED-ih-tair-ee». Related: heredity (noun), heritage, inherit, heir. Trap: not everything that runs in a family is hereditary — habits and language are learned, not passed by genes.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «hereditary» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hereditary/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.