upbringing

U1P3B3R1I1N1G2I1N1G2
/ˈʌpˌbrɪŋɪŋ/

noun

The traits acquired during one's childhood training

“Through her upbringing, Mildred's father had carefully programmed her to expect very little from life.”

Similar
breedingbringing upfosteringfosteragenurtureraisingrearing
OriginMiddle English upbringinge →
Less commonScrabble 16
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Meanings

nounupbringing (countable and uncountable, plural upbringings)

plural upbringings

  1. countableuncountableThe traits acquired during one's childhood training
  2. countableuncountableThe raising or training of a child.

    Through her upbringing, Mildred's father had carefully programmed her to expect very little from life.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounhelping someone grow up to be an accepted member of the community

Similar
breedingbringing upfosteringfosteragenurtureraisingrearing
Broader
socializationsocialisationacculturation
Also see
breedingfosteragefosteringnurtureraisingrearing

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishupbringinge
  2. Englishupbringing

From Middle English upbringinge, equivalent to upbring + -ing.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek τροφή, τροφή
  • τροφή (trophḗ)traits
  • τροφή (trophḗ)raising or training
Arabic تَرْبِيَة, تَرْبِيَة
  • تَرْبِيَة (tarbiya)traits
  • تَرْبِيَة (tarbiya)raising or training
Bulgarian възпита́ние, възпита́ние
  • възпита́ние (văzpitánie)traits
  • възпита́ние (văzpitánie)raising or training
Chinese Mandarin 教養 /教养
  • 教養 /教养 (jiàoyǎng)raising or training
Czech výchova, výchova
  • výchovatraits
  • výchovaraising or training
  • vychováníraising or training
Danish opdragelse
  • opdragelseraising or training
Dutch opvoeding
  • opvoedingtraits
Finnish kasvatus, kasvatus
  • kasvatustraits
  • kasvatusraising or training
French éducation, éducation
  • éducationtraits
  • éducationraising or training
German Erziehung, Erziehung
  • Erziehungtraits
  • Erziehungraising or training
Greek ανατροφή, ανατροφή
  • ανατροφή (anatrofí)traits
  • ανατροφή (anatrofí)raising or training
Irish oiliúint
  • oiliúintraising or training
Italian educazione, educazione
  • educazionetraits
  • educazioneraising or training
Japanese 教養
  • 教養 (kyōyō)raising or training
Korean 교양
  • 교양 (gyoyang)raising or training
Latvian audzināšana
  • audzināšanatraits
Norwegian Bokmål oppdragelse
  • oppdragelseraising or training
Persian تربیت, تربیت
  • تربیت (tarbiyat)traits
  • تربیت (tarbiyat)raising or training
Polish wychowanie, wychowanie
  • wychowanietraits
  • wychowanieraising or training
  • wychowywanieraising or training
Portuguese criação, educação
  • criaçãoraising or training
  • educaçãoraising or training
Russian воспита́ние, воспита́ние
  • воспита́ние (vospitánije)traits
  • воспита́ние (vospitánije)raising or training
Scottish Gaelic àrach, togail
  • àrachraising or training
  • togailraising or training
Slovak výchova, výchova
  • výchovatraits
  • výchovaraising or training
  • vychovávanieraising or training
Spanish crianza, crianza
  • crianzatraits
  • crianzaraising or training
Swahili ulezi, malezi
  • uleziraising or training
  • maleziraising or training
Swedish uppfostran
  • uppfostranraising or training
Tagalog nakalakihan, nakagisnan
  • nakalakihantraits
  • nakagisnantraits
Tamil வளர்ப்பு
  • வளர்ப்பு (vaḷarppu)raising or training
Ukrainian вихова́ння, вихова́ння
  • вихова́ння (vyxovánnja)traits
  • вихова́ння (vyxovánnja)raising or training
Urdu تَرْبِیت
  • تَرْبِیت (tarbiyat)raising or training
Cite this entry
APA

upbringing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upbringing

MLA

“upbringing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upbringing. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “upbringing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upbringing.

Source: upbringing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.