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maternity

/məˈtɜɹnəti/noun4 syllables

Maternity means: the quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother.

Synonyms for maternity7

noun, as in the quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother

motherliness, maternalism, maternal quality

noun, as in the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus

pregnancy, gestation

noun, as in the kinship relation between an offspring and the mother

motherhood

also used for maternity

maternity ward

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does maternity mean?3

noun

1

the quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother“the girl's motherliness made her invaluable in caring for the children”

2

the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus

3

the kinship relation between an offspring and the mother

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with maternity?1

four syllables

paternity
Show 4 near rhymes
diversityverticallyadversityvertices

Maternity in a sentence

  • After her maternity leave, she resumed her old job.unknown
  • Maternity nurses, midwives and doctors oversee the birth.sundown
  • She will start her maternity leave next week.CK
  • Did you give birth at home or at a maternity hospital?FeuDRenais2
  • The teacher was pregnant and she went on maternity leave.OsoHombre
  • She wants to work again after maternity leave.sundown
  • She wants to go back to work after her maternity leave.sundown
  • Rima went back to work after her maternity leave.Amastan

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of maternity

as a noun

plural
maternities