Synonyms of ancestors

ancestors

noun

plural of ancestor

1

as in grandfathers

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

• grandfathers
• fathers
• forefathers
• forebears
• grandmothers
• progenitors
• forebearers
• predecessors
• ancestries
• primogenitors
• foremothers
• patriarchs
• matriarchs
• ancestresses
• grandsires
• antecessors
• antecedents
• roots
• sires

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• descendants
• families
• children
• offspring
• issues
• lineages
• seed
• sons
• stocks
• daughters
• heirs
• successors
• progenies
• posterities
• inheritors
• scions

2

as in forerunners

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

• forerunners
• precursors
• predecessors
• antecedents
• prototypes
• originals
• granddaddies
• archetypes
• originators
• mothers
• daddies
• models
• foregoers
• fathers
• sires

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• descendants
• derivatives
• sons
• daughters
• offshoots
• outgrowths
• by-products
• spin-offs

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ancestors

The swampy forests that raccoons and their ancestors evolved within for 28 million years couldn’t be more unlike city landscapes. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026

Each family has developed its own strategies for explaining and remembering their ancestors' actions in 1898. — CBS News, 12 July 2026

That’s because the term ancestral diet is more of a general one, applying to any diet that is supposed to mimic the diet of our human ancestors. — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

However, when her island's resources are threatened, Moana embraces her ancestors' voyaging heritage and heads out to sea to find Maui, deliver the heart of Te Fiti (which Maui stole back in the day) and save her people. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 July 2026

The plants and animals Williford’s ancestors held relationships with became strangers. — Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

And Owen — the New Zealand actress who first gained attention as the victim of domestic violence in Lee Tamahori’s grueling Once Were Warriors — brings warmth and earthy wisdom to Tala, who provides a living link to the ancestors. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026

This type of eating pattern mimics the pattern of our ancestors, which is directly connected with our innate metabolism. — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026

California is returning a stretch of rugged Mendocino County coast to the Indigenous nations whose ancestors once stewarded its shores. — Alex Wigglesworth Los Angeles Times, Arkansas Online, 5 July 2026