as in grandmother
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Recent Examples of ancestress
The intersection of these two facts does convince me that William's genealogical ancestress, Eliza Kewark, did have South Asian ancestry (not totally surprising even in notionally ethnically distinct groups like Armenians or Parsis who have been long resident in India).
—
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 14 June 2013
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
Meanwhile, Alice, Dana’s ancestress, never becomes much more than a moral quandary: a stubborn victim who is unable to adapt.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
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
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 14 June 2013
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
Meanwhile, Alice, Dana’s ancestress, never becomes much more than a moral quandary: a stubborn victim who is unable to adapt.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestress
Noun
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My grandmother was trying to get some assistance to feed me, my sister, and my cousin.—
Nick Estes,
New Yorker,
26 June 2025
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Then, ten minutes after arriving home, my friend realized her grandmother’s heirloom ring, handed down through three generations, was missing.—
Jim Stevenson,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Noun
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The matriarch started smelling fruit, weighing the spiky samples with her hands and haggling with the seller.—
Tom Downey,
Smithsonian Magazine,
26 June 2025
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The story revolves around Mariamma, a child bride at age 12, who grows to become the powerful matriarch of the family.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 June 2025
Noun
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As Charles Handy explained in The Age of Paradox, modern life forces us to navigate complexities our ancestors never faced, such as the tension between efficiency and humanity or between individual freedom and collective responsibility.—
Shane Enete,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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As a pack animal closely aligned with their wolf ancestor, the breed would use these noises to communicate with the rest of the pack and with humans, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC).—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
Noun
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When fish suffer retinal damage, the Müller glia cells differentiate into retinal progenitor cells, which generate new neurons and help the fish keep their vision functioning properly.—
Michael Franco,
New Atlas,
11 June 2025
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Sly Stone, funk-rock progenitor and leader of the Family Stone, has died at 82.—
Julia Wick,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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Modern Puebloans—whose forebears may have hunted on the high deserts around the Rio Blanco nuclear test site—believe their ancient ancestors first emerged from the underworld.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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