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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ancestors
The group of 80-some species has ancestors going back tens of millions of years, originating in Asia.
—
Craig Stanford, Big Think, 7 May 2026
The Declaration had many ancestors.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
His next trip will be to Scotland to place his mother's stones where her ancestors were from.
—Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026
The ancestors demonstrate to the future the work that is yet to be done.
—Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 2 May 2026
First, their ancestors had to survive the dinosaurs’ doomsday, which was no small feat.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 1 May 2026
The small donkeys can trace their lineage back to ancestors who were left behind by miners when there was no more gold to be found.
—Nina Ruggiero, Travel + Leisure, 1 May 2026
Here, John and Paul Pogue continue to use the ingredients and techniques that their ancestors have used to make bourbon at Old Pogue for six generations.
—Michelle Polizzi, Southern Living, 1 May 2026
All of us are here because, over millennia of acts of God and wars and disease, our ancestors trusted the hours.
—Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026
Craig Stanford, Big Think, 7 May 2026
The Declaration had many ancestors.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
His next trip will be to Scotland to place his mother's stones where her ancestors were from.
—Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026
The ancestors demonstrate to the future the work that is yet to be done.
—Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 2 May 2026
First, their ancestors had to survive the dinosaurs’ doomsday, which was no small feat.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 1 May 2026
The small donkeys can trace their lineage back to ancestors who were left behind by miners when there was no more gold to be found.
—Nina Ruggiero, Travel + Leisure, 1 May 2026
Here, John and Paul Pogue continue to use the ingredients and techniques that their ancestors have used to make bourbon at Old Pogue for six generations.
—Michelle Polizzi, Southern Living, 1 May 2026
All of us are here because, over millennia of acts of God and wars and disease, our ancestors trusted the hours.
—Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestors
Noun
-
The captains were the fathers, or at least the grandfathers, of this genre.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Her grandfathers were military.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Even the Hammurabi Code, a set of laws created by the sixth Babylonian king in approximately 1760 bce, established forerunners of today’s interest rate and minimum wage laws.—
Chris Roush,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There’s mothers and daughters, there’s fathers and daughters, there’s fathers and sons, there’s siblings, there’s best friends, there’s coworkers.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
7 May 2026
-
In Downeast Maine, boys are shaped by brutal winters, the harvesting of the ocean’s bounty, and the rigid codes of their fathers.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
And then, thanks to the precursors to the storm that ultimately ended the first round early — the wind, above all else — the weather made the last few shots on the course brutal.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
8 May 2026
-
Particularly, single-source precursors — essentially all-in-one starter molecules — were used to observe the material’s transformation step by step.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The namesake cerdito, or piglet, represents his parents and their predecessors, who were farmers and ranchers in Jalisco on the Pacific side of Mexico.—
Louisa Kung Liu Chu,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In its approach to listening, World Rhythms marks a subtle but important break with its predecessors.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ancestors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestors. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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