What does in-law mean?

Definitions for in-law
in-law

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word in-law.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. in-law, relative-in-lawnoun

    a relative by marriage

GCIDE

  1. in-lawnoun

    A person who is related by marriage, as distinguished from a blood relative; esp. mother-in-law (the mother of one's spouse), father-in-law (the father of one's spouse), brother-in-law (the brother of one's spouse, or husband of one's spouse's sister), sister-in-law (the sister of one's spouse, or wife of one's spouse's brother).

  2. in-lawsuff.

    A suffix meaning through marriage. See in-law.

Wiktionary

  1. in-lawnoun

    A relative by marriage (or through affinity). Affinal relative; affine.

  2. in-lawnoun

    Sometimes specifically a parent-in-law of one's child, for which the dedicated terms co-mother-in-law, co-father-in-law are rare

Wikipedia

  1. in-law

    In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship which each party to a marriage has to the relations of the other partner to the marriage, but it does not cover the marital relationship itself. Laws, traditions and customs relating to affinity vary considerably, sometimes ceasing with the death of one of the marriage partners through whom affinity is traced, and sometimes with the divorce of the marriage partners. In addition to kinship by marriage, "affinity" can sometimes also include kinship by adoption or a step relationship. Unlike blood relationships (consanguinity), which may have genetic consequences, affinity is essentially a social or moral construct, at times backed by legal consequences. In law, affinity may be relevant in relation to prohibitions on incestuous sexual relations and in relation to whether particular couples are prohibited from marrying. Which relationships are prohibited vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and have varied over time. In some countries, especially in the past, the prohibited relationships were based on religious laws. In some countries, the prohibition on sexual relations between persons in an affinity relationship may be expressed in terms of degrees of relationship. The degree of affinity is considered the same as the consanguineal level a couple was joined, so that, for example, the degree of affinity of a husband to his sister-in-law is two, the same as the wife would be to her sister on the basis of consanguinity. The degree to the wife’s parent or child is one, and to an aunt or niece it is three, and first cousin it is four. Though adoption and step relationships are cases of affinity, they are normally treated as consanguinity.

ChatGPT

  1. in-law

    An in-law is a relative by marriage, such as the parent of one's spouse (father-in-law or mother-in-law), the spouse of one's sibling (brother-in-law or sister-in-law), or the spouse of one's spouse's sibling. The term can also be used to refer to the family of one's spouse as a group.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of in-law in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of in-law in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of in-law in a Sentence

  1. Brad Smith:

    We welcome the Supreme Court's ruling ending our case in light of the Cloud Act being signed into to law. Our goal has always been a new law and international agreements with strong privacy protections that govern how law enforcement gathers digital evidence across borders.

  2. Gregory Stenstrom appearedwith two other:

    I objected, I brought senior law enforcement over, we broughtthe clerk of elections over.

  3. Kendall Coffey:

    I would hope that as a community we are learning to ask more questions about meteoric financial rises, yet I'm uncertain if anything has really changed (after Rothstein)," said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney who represented Rothstein's law firm after the Ponzi scheme was uncovered.

  4. Justin Amash:

    True to Washington's fears, Americans have allowed government officials, under assertions of expediency and party unity, to ignore the most basic tenets of our constitutional order : separation of powers, federalism and the rule of law, the result has been the consolidation of political power and the near disintegration of representative democracy.

  5. Jason Crow:

    Local law enforcement and local leaders have to follow the rules. They have to follow the laws.


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"in-law." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 23 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/in-law>.

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