ANTECESSOR Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

antecessor

noun

Definition of antecessor

as in predecessor

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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 antecessor Like Homo antecessor, the Casablanca fossils have a mix of characteristics from Homo erectus, ourselves and our cousins. — CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for antecessor

Noun

Now, nearly a decade later, a new app aims to restore the format and spirit of its predecessor.

— Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
Its wooden predecessor was built in 1869 as the Transcontinental Railroad was being finished with Sacramento as its western terminus.

— Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of predecessor

Noun

Essay Get the Lead Out Alex Manley Our ancestors were born to die by predators.

— Naomi Skwarna, hazlitt.net, 25 Aug. 2026
For the last decade, genealogical consultant Grant Din has helped Asian Americans find information about their ancestors, many of whom passed through San Francisco’s Angel Island Immigration Station in the 1900s.

— Stephanie Lam, Mercury News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestor

Noun

He was further informed that Freya’s grandfather survived the devastating Russian siege of Bucha in 2022.

— Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
His mother had told him a man named Elvin Hunt might have been King’s biological grandfather instead of the person listed as King’s grandfather of record.

— Tommy Orange, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of grandfather

Noun

Many progressives and political experts cite Sanders, the Senate's only democratic socialist member, as the forefather of the movement that has toppled several longtime Democratic incumbents across the nation this year.

— Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2026
Wulf pays overdue homage to an intellectual titan and forefather of linguistics and natural history.

— Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026

Definition of forefather

Noun

Mike Brown said the digital driver license is the forebearer of discriminating against the unvaccinated.

— Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Feb. 2022
If successful, The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, named in honor of its famous nautical forebearer and known as MAS for short, will be the first such trans-Atlantic voyage by an autonomous vessel.

— Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2021

Definition of forebearer

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anteceding

antecessor

antecessors

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“Antecessor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antecessor. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of antecessor

noun

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