Meanings
- not comparableOf a trait or a disease, present since birth.
1 more example
Every town the size of Maycomb had families like the Ewells. No economic fluctuations changed their status—people like the Ewells lived as guests of the county in prosperity as well as in the depths of a depression. No truant officers could keep their numerous offspring in school; no public health officer could free them from congenital defects, various worms, and the diseases indigenous to filthy surroundings.
1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLCSynonyms: congenite, genetous, connate, connatural, congenite, genetous, inborn, inbred · Antonyms: acquired
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveOf a trait or a disease, present since birth.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivepresent at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
- Proto-Italic*kom
- Proto-Italic*kom-
- Latincon-
- Latingenitus
- Latincongenitus
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishcongenital
From Latin congenitus + -al, equivalent to con- + genital.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek συγγενικός
- συγγενικός (sungenikós)present since birth
Bulgarian вроден, по рождение
- вроден (vroden)present since birth
- по рождение (po roždenie)present since birth
Catalan congènit
- congènitpresent since birth
Chinese Mandarin 先天
- 先天 (xiāntiān)present since birth
Czech vrozený
- vrozenýpresent since birth
Danish medfødt
- medfødtpresent since birth
Dutch aangeboren, congenitaal
- aangeborenpresent since birth
- congenitaalpresent since birth
Esperanto denaska
- denaskapresent since birth
Finnish synnynnäinen
- synnynnäinenpresent since birth
French congénital
- congénitalpresent since birth
German angeboren, kongenital
- angeborenpresent since birth
- kongenitalpresent since birth
Greek συγγενής
- συγγενής (syngenís)present since birth
Hebrew מולד
- מולד (mulad)present since birth
Hindi जन्मजात
- जन्मजात (janmajāt)present since birth
Hungarian veleszületett
- veleszületettpresent since birth
Icelandic meðfæddur
- meðfæddurpresent since birth
Indonesian kongenital
- kongenitalpresent since birth
Italian congenito
- congenitopresent since birth
Japanese 先天的
- 先天的 (sententeki)present since birth
Lithuanian įgimtas
- įgimtaspresent since birth
Norwegian Bokmål medfødt
- medfødtpresent since birth
Polish wrodzony
- wrodzonypresent since birth
Portuguese congênito, congénito
- congênitopresent since birth
- congénitopresent since birth
Russian врождённый, конгенита́льный
- врождённый (vroždjónnyj)present since birth
- конгенита́льный (kongenitálʹnyj)present since birth
Spanish congénito
- congénitopresent since birth
Swedish medfödd, kongenital
- medföddpresent since birth
- kongenitalpresent since birth
Turkish konjenital, doğumsal
- konjenitalpresent since birth
- doğumsalpresent since birth
Ukrainian вроджений
- вроджений (vrodženyj)present since birth
Cite this entry
congenital. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/congenital
“congenital.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/congenital. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “congenital,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/congenital.
Source: congenital on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.