Meanings
- euphemisticPregnant.
Back on the veranda he said to Lace gravely, "I do believe that poor child's in the family way." Lace, tracing the pattern of the matting with his boot, husked, and murmured, "Yes — I think so.
1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter XI, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 1812 more examples
However, after they had lived in this way for some time, Mrs Leeson, to her own surprise and that of everybody else, found herself in the family way, and was brought to bed of as lovely a little boy as eyes ever looked upon.
1842, Catherine Crowe, Susan Hopley, Or, The Adventures of a Maid-servant[…]he tenderly whispered, 'Now, my sweet, don't you worry because I was careful and got off at Haymarket every time, so I did.' This remark meant nothing to Kate but to others in Leith who were acquainted with the facts of life it meant that Hugh had been careful not to go full steam ahead into Waverley and therefore put her in the family way.
2015, Millie Gray, Silver LiningsSynonyms: in a family way
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phrasePregnant.
Translations
German in anderen Umständen, guter Hoffnung
- in anderen Umständenpregnant
- guter Hoffnungpregnant
Hungarian állapotos, terhes
- állapotospregnant
- terhespregnant
- várandóspregnant
- anyai örömök elé nézpregnant
- gyermeket várpregnant
Italian in dolce attesa
- in dolce attesapregnant
Portuguese de barriga
- de barrigapregnant
Swedish i välsignat tillstånd
- i välsignat tillståndpregnant
Tamil வாயும் வயிறுமாக
- வாயும் வயிறுமாக (vāyum vayiṟumāka)pregnant
Cite this entry
in the family way. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20family%20way
“in the family way.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20family%20way. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the family way,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20family%20way.
Source: in the family way on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.