ARCHETYPE Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

archetype

noun

ˈär-ki-ˌtīp

Definition of archetype

as in original

something from which copies are made Beowulf is considered by some scholars to be the archetype for medieval British heroic tales

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in forerunner

something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed the abacus is sometimes cited as the archetype of the modern digital calculator

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 archetype In keeping with The Traitors’ Clue-like aesthetic, casting specifically sought out applicants with jobs that slotted them into murder-mystery archetypes. — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026 Matthew’s three kids are just TV archetypes, rarely resembling real people at all. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026 During the war, Pavese immersed himself in Greek tragedy, as well as the anthropological writings of Frazer and Lévy-Bruhl, Freud on childhood and the narrative technique of dreams, and Jung on the archetypes of the collective unconscious. — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 But this sleekly miserable noir about the aftermath of a feckless man’s confrontation with his wife’s younger lover transports the stuff of archetype into Putin’s Russia. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for archetype

Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetype

Noun

Richard’s singing and rapping weave between the relentless drums like a shuttle through a loom, accented by cool sax notes and vocal loops from the original, which was co-written by Richard’s father.

— Stephen Kearse, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
With such a wealth of premium British content still available to leverage, BBC originals will remain at the heart of our offering.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of original

Noun

Dubbed the ‘American Turtle’ for its appearance, the submarine made three attempts to blow up British ships without success, but is considered the forerunner of modern submarines.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

Definition of forerunner

Noun

The prototype was tested on one construction worker during normal activities, including movement, breaks, drinking water and eating.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
Gicon’s turbine stands about 25 m (82 ft) taller than Dongfang Electric’s 26-MW prototype in China, a machine designed for offshore use but installed at an onshore testing site.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of prototype

Noun

The discovery led to a complete redesign of the project, shifting the hotel inland to preserve the sacred site and honor the ancestors who remain there.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
The small, troubled Trask family represents isolation, generational trauma and dysfunctional cycles in contrast to the large, loving and morally grounded Hamilton family, who are modeled after Steinbeck’s own maternal ancestors.

— Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of ancestor

Noun

According to four people familiar with the situation, the podcast has been a particular source of friction between Thompson and Goldberg.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Yet without fully mature local ecosystems, Southeast Asian factories source inputs from China to keep production running.

— Angelica Ang, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of source

Noun

Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days (also known as October Prime Day) is here, serving as a precursor to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

— Cameron Faulkner, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026
Ng, who is Jo Henderson’s oncologist, noted that her previous research found that women who ate more ultraprocessed foods had a higher risk of colon polyps that can be precursors to cancer.

— Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of precursor

Browse Nearby Words

archetypal

archetype

archetypes

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Style

“Archetype.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetype. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of archetype

noun

Example Sentences

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