Synonyms of ancestor

ancestor

noun

ˈan-ˌse-stər 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grandfather
• father
• grandmother
• progenitor
• forefather
• forebear
• ancestry
• forebearer
• primogenitor
• predecessor
• ancestress
• patriarch
• matriarch
• antecessor
• foremother
• grandsire
• antecedents
• sire
• roots

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• descendant
• family
• children
• lineage
• offspring
• seed
• progeny
• stock
• issue
• son
• daughter
• posterity
• successor
• heir
• inheritor
• scion

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• forerunner
• precursor
• predecessor
• prototype
• original
• antecedent
• daddy
• archetype
• granddaddy
• originator
• mother
• model
• foregoer
• father
• sire

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• descendant
• son
• derivative
• daughter
• offshoot
• outgrowth
• by-product
• spin-off

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ancestor

While Qingming focuses primarily on one’s own ancestors, the Hungry Ghost Festival extends offerings to wandering spirits and the unclaimed dead. — ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026

One of these human ancestors might have interbred with Homo sapiens in Africa more than 50,000 years ago. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026

Polson is the ancestor of John Ridge (Lance Claymore) and Major Ridge (Marco Fuller); members of the Cherokee Nation who in 1835, signed the treaty that led to the Trail of Tears and the expulsion of the Cherokee out of southern Appalachia. — Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026

Their mutual ancestor, John Brinkley, hailed from Blount County in Tennessee—not far from present-day Dollywood. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 28 Aug. 2026