as in grandmother
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Recent Examples of ancestress
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestress
Noun
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Influencers relayed the timeline from the hours after Nancy Guthrie was last seen and posted photos of the blood found on her front porch that later was a match for the 84-year-old grandmother.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Feb. 2026
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That looks like grandmothers delivering hot meals to those on the frontlines.—
Anna Moeslein,
Glamour,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Harden will play Margaret Vandenburg, the CEO and matriarch of her family’s business empire, guiding them to become a prominent family with political ties.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
4 Feb. 2026
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Wife Swap attempted to answer this question, with everyday families with differing lifestyles swapping matriarchs for a couple weeks.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Some of those ancestors left Africa to explore Europe.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
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Gibson is passionate about introducing fans to underrepresented voices and tipping her cap to the mothers, grandmothers, and other ancestors who inspired us all along the way.—
Karla Walsh,
Southern Living,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Somewhere in Africa there is a city, town, or village where Henry Fordham’s progenitors lived and died for hundreds or thousands of years, where my distant relatives walk the streets today.—
Eugene Robinson,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2026
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More interesting is how Rocky feels he’s been underrated as a progenitor of modern rap style.—
Mosi Reeves,
Rolling Stone,
19 Jan. 2026
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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While not the biggest change from its forbear, the 40 Series face would go on to become iconic, its round headlights within a white grille surround defining the model in the public’s eye.—
Will Sabel Courtney,
Robb Report,
5 Feb. 2026
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But beneath the surface, new technology promises Artemis astronauts mobility on the moon that their Apollo-era forebears could only dream about.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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