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Forebear (also spelled, less commonly, as forbear) was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. Fore- means "coming before," just as in forefather, and -bear means "one that is." This -bear is not to be confused with the -bear in the unrelated verb forbear, which comes from Old English beran, meaning "to bear or carry." The -bear in the noun forebear is a combination of be-, from the verb be (or, more specifically, from been, an old dialect variant of be), and -ar, a form of the suffix -er, which we append to verbs to denote one that performs a specified action. In this case the "action" is simply existing or being—in other words, -bear implies one who is a "be-er."
Examples of forebear in a Sentence
Literary Hub, 11 June 2025
Pullman Market follows in the footsteps of Eataly before it, but this complex’s concepts are so much more distinct and delicious than anything that forebear has offered.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 10 June 2025
Here is an inconvenient truth: our forebears used the unrestrained free market to effect a staggering destruction of continental wildlife, an unforgivable crime against evolution in America.
—Dan Flores, Time, 29 May 2025
As his forebears did, Jobbagy arrives at work at four in the morning.
—Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for forebear
Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forebear. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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