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MATERNAL
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I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent
Example:
parental guidance
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Sense 2
Meaning:
Characteristic of a mother
Example:
warm maternal affection for her guest
Classified under:
Similar:
maternalistic (showing maternal instincts)
motherlike (suggestive of or acting like a mother)
motherly (befitting a mother; warm and nurturing)
Also:
matriarchal (characteristic of a matriarchy)
Attribute:
maternal quality; maternalism; maternity; motherliness (the quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother)
Antonym:
paternal (characteristic of a father)
Derivation:
maternity (the quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Related on the mother's side
Example:
my maternal grandmother
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
related (connected by kinship, common origin, or marriage)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Relating to or derived from one's mother
Example:
maternal genes
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Pertainym:
mother (a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother))
Context examples:
It is caused by placental transfer of maternal autoantibodies, usually anti-Ro antibody.
(Neonatal Lupus Erythematosus, NCI Thesaurus)
Studies of the mechanisms by which maternal exposure to carcinogens cause cancer in in children.
(Perinatal Carcinogenesis, NCI Thesaurus)
Fetal heart rate patterns associated with maternal uterine contractions.
(Periodic Fetal Heart Rate Pattern, NCI Thesaurus)
The very winds whispered in soothing accents, and maternal Nature bade me weep no more.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
The measurement of the degree to which a neonate is experiencing symptoms of withdrawal due to maternal substance abuse; the score can be used to determine subsequent treatment of the infant.
(Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Assessment, NCI Thesaurus)
Abnormally dark tarry feces containing blood, usually due to gastrointestinal bleeding or swallowed maternal blood in neonates.
(Melena Neonatorum, NCI Thesaurus)
A rare syndrome that affects the fetus and is caused by the maternal use of retinoids during pregnancy.
(Fetal Retinoid Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
The relationship of the presenting part of the fetus to the maternal ischial spines during labor and delivery.
(Fetal Station, NCI Thesaurus)
Loss of fetal blood into the maternal circulation.
(Fetal-Maternal Hemorrhage, NCI Thesaurus)
Many studies have shown that the risk of SIDS is increased by maternal smoking during pregnancy.
(Combined prenatal smoking and drinking greatly increases SIDS risk, National Institutes of Health)
