as in lineage
the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended
a Cambodian immigrant who can trace her Khmer ancestry as far back as the 16th century
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ancestry
Some of the biggest travel trends expected for 2026 are around ancestry and grocery store tourism.
—
Alex Ledsom, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Notably, however, among the new appointees to the board were a Black man, another man whose mother is Iranian and whose father is Pakistani, and a man of Spanish ancestry whose parents were Turkish immigrants.
—Richie Zweigenhaft, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
About half the town’s population claims Danish ancestry, a percentage that has slowly shrunk as younger generations leave for opportunities elsewhere.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 22 Jan. 2026
She was born and raised in Hawaii and is of Vietnamese descent on her mother’s side, as well as having Polish and Irish ancestry on her father’s side, who is American.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ancestry
Alex Ledsom, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Notably, however, among the new appointees to the board were a Black man, another man whose mother is Iranian and whose father is Pakistani, and a man of Spanish ancestry whose parents were Turkish immigrants.
—Richie Zweigenhaft, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
About half the town’s population claims Danish ancestry, a percentage that has slowly shrunk as younger generations leave for opportunities elsewhere.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 22 Jan. 2026
She was born and raised in Hawaii and is of Vietnamese descent on her mother’s side, as well as having Polish and Irish ancestry on her father’s side, who is American.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ancestry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestry
Noun
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There’s an additional quest element in Elizabeth seeking documents about her family lineage to fight her erasure from the history books.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
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Hunter-McPhan's lineage makes her Black and Japanese.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Ancestry claims to put these family history opportunities at your fingertips with the world’s largest online collection of genealogy records.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
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The realization started Mills’ path on genealogy.—
Sean Krofssik,
Hartford Courant,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Military and dual-use AI capabilities, many with commercial origins, are being tested and deployed.—
Jared Cohen,
Time,
18 Feb. 2026
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Soma, a young woman who is searching for her own origins.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Here was a paper with a strong pedigree that had fallen on somewhat hard times, and a suitor with funds who seemed eager to return it to steady glory.—
Hanna Rosin,
The Atlantic,
5 Feb. 2026
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But White has long preached the process over championship pedigree to his potential players, and that doesn’t change now that Texas has a title.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was used to detain foreign nationals, many of them Japanese, while Executive Order 9066 was used to detain and incarcerate people of Japanese descent from the West Coast en masse, including US citizens.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
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Convinced that her sadistic ceremonies will transform him into a god, Clara draws Brighton into a hallucinatory descent into faith, flesh, and the sublime.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In the courtroom will be parents and families from across the US who say their children were harmed — or even died — as a result of social media.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, D-San Francisco, said her bill, AB 1846, would allow judges to place a child with a family member at any point during the foster care process.—
Kate Wolffe,
Sacbee.com,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In 2021, Morobe was paired with Keweng, a female tree kangaroo, for breeding and sired two daughters, Paia and Ren, according to the zoo.—
Jack Perry,
The Providence Journal,
18 Feb. 2026
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Gatorland features hundreds of reptiles, as well as other animals, plus gator wrestling, a zip-line course that travels over the breeding marsh, an off-road attraction, old Florida charm and an iconic entrance that encourages visitors to walk through oversized alligator jaws.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ancestry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestry. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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