ANCESTRESS Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

ancestress

noun

Definition of ancestress

as in grandmother

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ancestress Yang Asha is the mythical ancestress of the Miao people, an ethnic minority in China closely related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia. — Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2020 His own mother, aged ninety, who remembered her aunt, had been able to share stories of their ancestress with the grandchildren who’d had no idea, before now, what their background might be. — Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020 Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan’s emperors. — Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019 Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan's emperors. — NBC News, 22 Oct. 2019 Instead of being a reticulated mesh the genealogy of mtDNA is a clean and inverted elegant tree leading back to a common ancestress. — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2010

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestress

Noun

At Helen, also downtown in a 1920s-era building, chef Rob McDaniel serves a menu almost entirely cooked over a grill that's inspired by his grandmother's open-fire cooking.

— Leslie Pariseau, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2026
His grandmother was a coal plant chemical engineer closely aligned to steel making, and his mother, father, and uncle all work in the sector.

— Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of grandmother

Noun

Stitt points out a photograph of Olney in a hallway near the bathroom, while recalling sharing wine with Lulu Peyraud, the beloved matriarch of the Domaine Tempier wine estate in Provence, among a collage of other French memories.

— Leslie Pariseau, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2026
The streamer and Shondaland announced Thursday that an untitled spinoff about the early life of the future matriarch of the Bridgerton clan is in the works.

— Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of matriarch

Noun

The changes would have affected the environments in which life developed and evolved, from the age of the dinosaurs through to some of our oldest primate ancestors.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
In his view, Flagg Mountain’s fire-scarred stumps corroborate what his community already knew—that their ancestors used fire for centuries—and reinforce their sense of responsibility to care for the land.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of ancestor

Noun

At first there is just a single basin, corresponding to the pool of myeloid progenitor cells.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Featuring cantilevered balconies and roofs, Wright later described the home as a progenitor to Fallingwater.

— Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of progenitor

Noun

Through our hair and its many rituals, remain the herbalism of our foremothers in the new world, passing down their ingenuity of homemade balms, creams, and oils for hair growth.

— Eshe Ukweli, refinery29.com, 7 June 2023
In fact, precursors to modern bleaching processes didn’t come on the scene until the turn of the 20th century, leaving our foremothers and forefathers plenty of time to get creative with their blonde pursuits.

— AJ Willingham, CNN, 28 May 2023

Definition of foremother

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“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ancestress

noun

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