Akin
/əˈkɪn/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf persons, of the same kin; related by blood.
adjAllied by nature; similar; partaking of the same properties; of the same kind.
Sentence Examples
Pity is akin to love.
This problem is akin to the one we had last year.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her kindness to strangers is ____ to that of a saint.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two musical styles are very ____, sharing many common themes.
Word Origin & History
From a corruption of of kin, from Middle English of kyn (“related, of kin”), equivalent to a- + kin (1550s). Compare Old English cyn, cynn (“akin, proper, suitable”, adj.).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[W]e are too near a kin to lye together, tho' vve may Lodge near one another; […]"
— 1722 (indicated as 1721), [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. […], London: […] W[illiam Rufus] Chetwood, […]; and T. Edling, […], published 1722, →OCLC, page 137:
"The faces changed, passing in rotation. Youthful faces, bearded faces, dark faces: faces serene, or faces moody, but all akin with the brotherhood of the sea."
— 1897, Joseph Conrad, The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC:
"She told me that she hoped my Face was not akin to my Tongue."
— 1710 March 19 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, March 9, 1709–1710. To the Spectator, &c..”, in The Spectator, number 8; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 39:
"Mr. Winkle . . . took his hand with a feeling of regard, akin to veneration."
— 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter XXXIX, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
"Something akin to a smile shone on his face."
— 1910 July, Zane Grey, “Old Well-Well”, in Success:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her kindness to strangers is ____ to that of a saint.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two musical styles are very ____, sharing many common themes.