SISTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

• SISTER (noun)
  The noun SISTER has 3 senses:

1. a female person who has the same parents as another person

2. (Roman Catholic Church) a title given to a nun (and used as a form of address)

3. a female person who is a fellow member of a sorority or labor union or other group

  Familiarity information: SISTER used as a noun is uncommon.

• SISTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A female person who has the same parents as another person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

sis; sister

Context example:

my sister married a musician

Hypernyms ("sister" is a kind of...):

female sibling (a person's sister)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sister"):

big sister (an older sister)

little sister (a younger sister)

half-sister; half sister; stepsister (a sister who has only one parent in common with you)

Antonym:

brother (a male with the same parents as someone else)

Derivation:

sisterhood (the kinship relation between a female offspring and the siblings)

sisterly (like or characteristic of or befitting a sister)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(Roman Catholic Church) a title given to a nun (and used as a form of address)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

the Sisters taught her to love God

Hypernyms ("Sister" is a kind of...):

nun (a woman religious)

Domain category:

Church of Rome; Roman Catholic; Roman Catholic Church; Roman Church; Western Church (the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy)

Holonyms ("Sister" is a member of...):

sisterhood (a religious society of women who live together as sisters (especially an order of nuns))

Derivation:

sisterhood (a religious society of women who live together as sisters (especially an order of nuns))

Sense 3

Meaning:

A female person who is a fellow member of a sorority or labor union or other group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

none of her sisters would betray her

Hypernyms ("sister" is a kind of...):

fellow member; member (one of the persons who compose a social group (especially individuals who have joined and participate in a group organization))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sister"):

Beguine ((Roman Catholic Church) a member of a lay sisterhood (one of several founded in the Netherlands in the 12th and 13th centuries); though not taking religious vows the sisters followed an austere life)

Holonyms ("sister" is a member of...):

sorority (a social club for female undergraduates)

 Context examples 

Her sister seconded her, and a chorus of approval arose from around the table.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“That's the point,” said his sister.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I had always been a book-worm; so my sisters and father had called me during my childhood.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

"Mayn't we come over some day while you are at your sister's? Or, better yet, won't you come over and have dinner with us?"

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

She and I were like sisters; and now she is gone, will you not let me be like a sister to you in your trouble?

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The storm cleared up below, for Mrs. March came home, and, having heard the story, soon brought Amy to a sense of the wrong she had done her sister.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

But why cannot Mr. Thorpe drive one of his other sisters?

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

They ought to feel what is due to you as my sister.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

You have been five years with us, and my sister always meant to take you when Mr. Norris died.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

"What did she say, sister?" asked Mary.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)