as in grandmother
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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
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
-
Authorities stated that Acosta, the toddler's father and the toddler's grandmother were watching the boy while his mother was at work.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
2 June 2025
-
In her telling, whenever her mother and grandmother were painting their houses, the then-adolescent Mahlangu would invite herself to do the same, but would be scolded.—
Percy Zvomuya,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
Noun
-
Now is the time to stand up for every American’s First Amendment right to tell their story, to dissent from the government’s world view, to celebrate the resilience and fortitude of ancestors who fought for their rights and their culture in this country.—
John Leguizamo,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2025
-
Names carry the legacy of our ancestors, the history of our culture, and the desires of our parents.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
5 June 2025
Noun
-
Princess Charlotte shares a close bond with her grandfather, King Charles.—
Greta Bjornson,
People.com,
6 June 2025
-
In From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, Ana de Armas’ Eve is seeking revenge after the death of her father, Javier (David Castañeda), who was killed in an assassination attempt by his father-in-law and her grandfather, The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) a dozen years before.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
Named after the family matriarch, Sigrid showcases the elegance and complexity achievable in Willamette Valley Chardonnay, with vibrant acidity, a layered, creamy texture, and remarkable age-worthiness.—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
-
Machado plays the tough matriarch while newcomers Tatianna Córdoba and Florencia Cuenca play her daughters.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
Its progenitor started off in the timber trade around the turn of the 20th century, according to a company profile.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 May 2025
-
New York is usually considered the antithesis of sprawl and Los Angeles the progenitor of it.—
Conor Dougherty,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
As his forebears did, Jobbagy arrives at work at four in the morning.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
-
In this thoughtful, cautionary tale, the longtime New Yorker magazine staff writer reports on how three generations of his forebears, beginning with his great-grandfather, revolutionized vegetable farming and the frozen food business in southwestern New Jersey.—
Heller McAlpin,
Christian Science Monitor,
3 June 2025
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
Noun
-
The triumphs of his forefathers, the great king Akbar and Shah Jahan, have been written out of history textbooks, Rezavi said, or not taught in schools.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Boland is one of them, as well as a forefather of the Red Dirt genre.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share