family units
Domestic groupings together
Family units are households composed of people related by blood, marriage, or close bonds living together.
The term appears most often in sociological, political, or administrative contexts where families are counted or discussed as discrete entities: The apartment complex houses fifty family units.
It can sound clinical compared to simply saying "families."
Those connected by blood
- siblingsFellow offspring
- parentsMother and father
- childrenYoung human beings
- cousinsRelatives through shared grandparents
grandparents · aunts · uncles · nieces · nephews · in-laws · stepfamily · half-siblings
Study of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- forebearsAncestral family members
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- progenitorsOriginal ancestors of a lineage
pedigree · dynasty · roots · origin · lineage · bloodline · descendants · succession
Attending to dependents
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- bondingForming close connections
- guidanceAdvice for decisions
- affectionWarm emotional attachment
stability · trust · protection · encouragement · mentorship · interdependence · emotional support · childcare
One's personal residence
- cohabitationDwelling together unmarried
- dwellingPlace of residence
- residencePlace one inhabits
- living arrangementsHow someone is housed
roommates · housemates · domestic partners · multigenerational · childfree · empty nesters · dependents · guardianship
Small rural community
- communeShared-living community
- collectiveJointly organized group
- cooperativeJointly operated enterprise
- kibbutzIsraeli communal farm
compound · tribe · network · congregation · fellowship · intentional community · cohousing · neighborhood
relatives
Those connected by blood
cousins · grandparents · aunts · uncles · nieces · nephews · in-laws · stepfamily · half-siblings · godparents
genealogy
Study of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- forebearsAncestral family members
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
progenitors · pedigree · dynasty · roots · origin · lineage · bloodline · descendants · succession · heirloom
caregiving
Attending to dependents
affection · stability · trust · protection · encouragement · mentorship · interdependence · emotional support · childcare · eldercare
home
One's personal residence
- cohabitationDwelling together unmarried
- dwellingPlace of residence
- residencePlace one inhabits
living arrangements · roommates · housemates · domestic partners · multigenerational · childfree · empty nesters · dependents · guardianship · custody
village
Small rural community
- communeShared-living community
- collectiveJointly organized group
- cooperativeJointly operated enterprise
kibbutz · compound · tribe · network · congregation · fellowship · intentional community · cohousing · neighborhood · circle
- village communitieselders, well, market, commons, farms
- housingapartments, home, house, houses, homes
- kinshipmother, father, sister, brother, children
- social studiescivics, social studies, maps, economics, community
- social capitalconnections, networks, ties, relationships, reciprocity
- campstent, tents, camp, shelters, campsite
family unitsloners
People preferring isolation
hermits · singletons · recluses · bachelors · spinsters
family unitsstate institutions
Formal bodies of government
institutional care · group homes · dormitories · barracks · boarding houses