nuclear family

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Once was when I was 18 years old, and it was definitely mental illness: I want the nuclear family that I didn’t have, and I want it now.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

But the breakdown of the nuclear family may very well be.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Scott recalled growing up in a working-class family in Birmingham, "in a world of soap operas and things" where TV characters were mostly in heterosexual relationships or "settled down" in a nuclear family.

From BBC • May 31, 2025

This contrasts with the Western nuclear family model, where learning is often centered around parents or teachers in a formalized school setting.

From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024

In the close quarters of an American nuclear family, their mother's prodigious energy was becoming a real drain on their self-determination.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez