What does unfilial mean?
Unfilial describes behavior that falls short of the affection, respect, obedience, and care conventionally expected from a child toward a parent. The term can refer to neglect, disloyalty, irreverence, or deliberately hostile treatment, especially when a child acts against a parent's wishes or abandons a parent in time of need. Because it applies a strong moral judgment, it is generally used in formal, literary, or sharply critical contexts rather than for ordinary disagreement between parents and adult children. Unfilial is the opposite of filial, the standard word for devotion and dutiful affection toward one's parents. The word is now relatively uncommon but remains useful because it identifies a specific breach of an established family role. It may also suggest that conduct considered merely unconventional in another context is judged especially objectionable because it violates the duties associated with kinship.
adjectiveNot showing the affection, respect, or obedience expected of a child toward a parent; disloyal or undutiful toward one's parents.
- Disloyal or undutiful toward one's parents; lacking the affection, respect, or obedience normally expected of a child.
"Her abrupt departure without saying goodbye seemed shockingly unfilial."
"The critic condemned the heir's unfilial treatment of the family."
"Her neglect of her aging parents was regarded by relatives as profoundly unfilial."
Unfilial is filial with its expected devotion removed: the negative prefix turns a child's duty into its opposite.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does unfilial come from?
Unfilial was formed in English by combining the negative prefix un- with filial, an adjective derived from Latin filialis, meaning "of or relating to a son or child." Its ultimate Latin root is filius, meaning "son." English words such as filiation and filiolic belong to the same Latin family.
Related word forms
How unfilial is actually used
Formal, literary, and relatively rare. It normally characterizes conduct or attitudes toward one's parents and carries a strongly censorious moral tone. It is not a neutral description of independence or a child's disagreement with a parent.
Easily confused with unfilial
Filial means dutiful or devoted toward one's parents, whereas unfilial means failing to meet those expectations.