Phrase guide

nuclear family

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The traditional western family unit, consisting of two parents (traditionally a mother and a father) and their children.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: nontraditional family

2

noun

Meaning 2

a family consisting of parents and their children and grandparents of a marital partner

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: conjugal family

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: family, household, house, home, menage

History

Etymology

From nuclear + family.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: gesin — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Chinese Mandarin: 核心家庭 (héxīn jiātíng) — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Danish: kernefamilie — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Dutch: kerngezin — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Finnish: ydinperhe — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • French: famille nucléaire — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • German: Kernfamilie — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Hindi: परिवार (parivār) — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Hindi: एकल परिवार (ekal parivār) — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Icelandic: kjarnafjölskylda — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Indonesian: keluarga inti — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Indonesian: keluarga batih — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Japanese: 核家族 — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Korean: 핵가족 (haekgajok) — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Marshallese: baam̧le — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kjernefamilie — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: kjernefamilie — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Polish: rodzina nuklearna — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Portuguese: família nuclear — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Romanian: familie nucleară — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Russian: нуклеа́рная семья́ (nukleárnaja semʹjá) — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Spanish: familia nuclear — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Swedish: kärnfamilj — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Turkish: çekirdek aile — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Urdu: خاندان — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Vietnamese: gia đình hạt nhân — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children
  • Welsh: teulu cnewyllol — a family unit consisting of a father, mother and children