How to Use hereditary in a Sentence

hereditary

adjective
  • He suffers from a rare hereditary condition.
  • Welcome to the world of by-elections for hereditary peers in the House of Lords.
    The Economist, 21 June 2018
  • The main source of resistance to the project is a number of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.
    Kevin Orland, Bloomberg.com, 9 May 2020
  • Heinrich may claim the hereditary title, but the House of Reuss is less than pleased with him.
    Patrick Smith, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2022
  • Japan is believed to have the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world.
    Time, 22 Oct. 2019
  • So the king of Prussia, a king of Bavaria, hereditary princes in an area of east-central Germany.
    Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2022
  • The hereditary form of the disease stems from mutations to the TTR gene, which produces the protein transthyretin.
    Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Jan. 2022
  • Japan is ruled by the longest-running hereditary dynasty in the world.
    Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2021
  • Her father is the hereditary chief of their First Nation.
    Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2022
  • The house of Lords ceased to be hereditary in 1999, but even now it’s just merely appointed by the two main parties.
    The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 17 Mar. 2021
  • Though the hereditary aspect is out of our control, many of the lifestyle aspects aren’t.
    Celia Shatzman, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
  • The Chrysanthemum Throne is the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world.
    CNN, 15 Dec. 2021
  • And it’s like a hereditary disease that’s passed on from one generation to the next.
    Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2022
  • Some of the functions are part of any system of hereditary monarchy, but others are very much in the hands of the sovereign . . .
    WSJ, 25 Jan. 2019
  • Only 15% of cases are hereditary; the causes of the rest are unknown.
    Andy Kessler, WSJ, 29 Jan. 2023
  • The position is not hereditary, but Prince Charles is expected to get the nod.
    Erin Hill, PEOPLE.com, 19 Apr. 2018
  • Just 3% to 5% of these cancers are caused by hereditary factors.
    Markham Heid, Time, 13 Dec. 2022
  • The illness is hereditary and may not emerge until a patient’s 40s.
    Elizabeth Anne Brown, New York Times, 15 May 2023
  • The first to recognize that CF was a hereditary disease...
    Katie Hafner, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2021
  • In fact, hereditary, and all that the word encompasses within the film, extends to Aster as well.
    Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 June 2018
  • Sullivan, who serves as hereditary chief for the O'Sullivan clan.
    Glenn Garner, PEOPLE.com, 24 July 2022
  • But words are open to interpretation, and while the Crown may be hereditary, a monarch’s sense of duty is not.
    Holly Thomas, CNN, 13 Sep. 2022
  • Sung was among the first to understand the roles of BRCA1 and 2, which are hereditary genes that suppress breast and ovarian cancers.
    Laura Garcia, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Sep. 2022
  • Becky’s son also became ill with a blood disease, one that could have been hereditary.
    Fiona Tapp, SELF, 18 Jan. 2019
  • This was far more first season of True Detective, with grit and gore and the kind of hereditary violence that’s all over our screens this year.
    Cady Drell, Marie Claire, 27 Aug. 2018
  • Until 1999, every one of Britain’s hereditary peers was also entitled to sit in the House of Lords.
    Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 14 Nov. 2020
  • Then there’s the hereditary part of a mother’s gardening.
    Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 7 May 2021
  • The office was hereditary, handed down from father to son.
    National Geographic, 27 Aug. 2020
  • But the role of monarch is not hereditary: The successor is determined by tribal representatives from across the nation.
    Rachel Treisman, NPR, 5 Sep. 2024
  • Although the cause of lipomas is unknown, this condition is hereditary (e.g. members of the same family have a higher chance of developing it).
    Donna Murray, Rn, Parents, 29 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hereditary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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