Word.ws English Dictionary

in-lawry

in-lawry noun: the condition of being an in-law.

Noun

in-lawry (uncountable)

  1. (rare) The condition of being an in-law.
    • In the course of a long life we have only met one person who claimed to be wholly guiltless of “in-lawry.” […] For those who waste their time on reflection it is curious to note that although, as has been pointed out, “in-lawry” is the common fate of the entire human race—you may get through life...1898 April 1, “Social Suggestions for 1898. IX.—A Plea for the ‘In-Law.’”, in The Westminster Gazette, special edition, volume XI, number 1,588, London: […] John Marshall, […], →OCLC, page 1, column 3
    • Just as we parents are inclined to reveal certain human frailties which parenthood tends to bring out, so also we grandparents and in-laws are inclined to reveal certain human frailties which our grandparenthood and in-lawry tend to uncover.1945 March 1, Garry C. Myers, “Parent Problems”, in Pottstown Mercury, volume 14, number 132, Pottstown, Pa.: Pottstown Daily News Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 4, column 7

Origin of in-lawry

From in-law + -ry.

Questions about in-lawry

What does in-lawry mean?
In-lawry means the condition of being an in-law.
What part of speech is in-lawry?
In-lawry is a noun.

Words near in-lawry in the dictionary

  1. in-law suite
  2. in-law suites
  3. in-law unit
  4. in-law units
  5. in-lawhood
  6. in-lawry
  7. in-laws
  8. in-lieu fee
  9. in-lieu fees
  10. in-line
  11. in-line engine

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in-lawry (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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