1
as in grandfather
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
Bridie's Irish ancestors immigrated to the United States in the 19th century during the Great Potato Famine
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2
as in forerunner
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
pinball machines—the ancestors of today's video games—go back to the 19th century
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Examples of ancestor in a Sentence
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Recent Examples on the Web
Using traditional genealogy techniques and historical records, researchers then identified a common ancestor, ultimately leading to her identification, the DNA Doe Project detailed.
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Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 25 Oct. 2024
Her ancestors lived across what is now Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina until the 1830s, when the U.S. Army brutally forced Indigenous nations of the Southeast westward to Oklahoma in what is often referred to as the Trail of Tears.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 25 Oct. 2024
This finding raises new questions around our hunter-gatherer ancestors’ diet and lifestyle.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
Fara Heim is an upcoming eight-part expedition series for Viasat World and Super Channel about two Icelandic explorers from a small town who seek to discover if their ancestors, the Vikings, reached American centuries before Christopher Columbus.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ancestor 
Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 25 Oct. 2024
Her ancestors lived across what is now Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina until the 1830s, when the U.S. Army brutally forced Indigenous nations of the Southeast westward to Oklahoma in what is often referred to as the Trail of Tears.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 25 Oct. 2024
This finding raises new questions around our hunter-gatherer ancestors’ diet and lifestyle.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
Fara Heim is an upcoming eight-part expedition series for Viasat World and Super Channel about two Icelandic explorers from a small town who seek to discover if their ancestors, the Vikings, reached American centuries before Christopher Columbus.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ancestor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestor
Noun
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Brandon, who is named after Chelsea’s grandfather, was born first and his brother, Maximus, arrived two months later.Emily Blackwood, People.com, 26 Oct. 2024
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His maternal grandfather, Joseph Ryter, had been a congressman for one term, 1945-47, which Heff liked to mention.Mark Oppenheimer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Lilly developed its forerunner more than 30 years prior, according to reporting from FiercePharma. Market pricing for prescription drugs creates the incentives that perpetuate this cycle of innovation.Sally Pipes, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
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Dunham became, in time, a kind of spiritual mother to him—a forerunner in his fight to establish a school where Black dance idioms could be studied.Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Her father, John Daniel Jr., was the owner of Inglenook from 1936 until it was sold in 1964, and Robin is now following the family tradition creating quality wines from grapes grown in Napa Valley.Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 4 Nov. 2024
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His father died of lung cancer two years later, an experience that shaped Walz’s views on healthcare policy.Kyle Khan-Mullins, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Secondly, while self-injury isn’t necessarily a suicide attempt, data suggests the former can sometimes be a precursor to suicidality.Kristen Rogers, CNN, 30 Oct. 2024
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Could Titan’s atmosphere be the key to the sort of rich chemistry that evolves into molecules that qualify as precursors of life?Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Lively, fun and full of some genuinely endearing magical moments, the new Disney series has the potential of standing just as prominently as its predecessor.Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 Oct. 2024
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Where his predecessors made their names aligning with Colombian elites, Petro acted as a renegade and started his own political party.Justin Worland/Bogotá, TIME, 29 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The other million dollar cars included 1964 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider prototype (which sold for $1.88 million), 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 ($1.33 million), 1957 300 SL Roadster ($1.19 million) and a 1962 Porsche 356 B 1600 ‘Twin-Grille’ Roadster.Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 4 Nov. 2024
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The custom-residential markets of Washington, D.C., Delaware, and Virginia each share in the distinction of being mostly concerned with country- and suburban-specific renovation and restoration, specifically of Colonial and Colonial Revival prototypes and their progeny.Richard Olsen, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Ancestor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestor. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.
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