1
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in original
something from which copies are made
Beowulf is considered by some scholars to be the archetype for medieval British heroic tales
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of archetype
The archetype of Mars in Scorpio is a combination of the fearless investigator and the phoenix rising from the ashes.
—
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
The archetype is, of course, familiar—but Hawke imbues each of these characters with infectious zeal and a solemn, even sacred, severity.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Destino Five isn’t designed for one archetype of guest; it’s built for the full spectrum of today’s traveler.
—Ashlee Marie Preston, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
But now, she's done relying on filling an archetype.
—Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for archetype
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
The archetype is, of course, familiar—but Hawke imbues each of these characters with infectious zeal and a solemn, even sacred, severity.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Destino Five isn’t designed for one archetype of guest; it’s built for the full spectrum of today’s traveler.
—Ashlee Marie Preston, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
But now, she's done relying on filling an archetype.
—Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for archetype
Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetype
Noun
-
Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.—
Benjamin Nathans
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Schuyler, who a decade ago sold her company, Epitome Pictures, to DHX Media, a forerunner of Wild Brain Entertainment, was not available for comment on Wednesday.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There’s an argument to made that Hades II is missing some of the whimsy of the original.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
-
But sometimes its just great to come back to the original.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Demosponges are soft and squishy filter feeders and their ancestors likely shared similar characteristics.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Where Lil Boosie and Kevin Gates are hometown heroes, two artists who are direct ancestors for YoungBoy’s style, YoungBoy is more notorious, fodder for the gossip shows and the minor podcasts that infiltrate their way onto your timeline.—
Jayson Buford,
Rolling Stone,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
For now, HydroFlexor and HydroBuckler are only lab-scale prototypes.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Sep. 2025
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Endurance racing like the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Rolex 24 at Daytona has seen record crowds over the last few years, and a large part of that is down to the sports prototype class, exemplified by cars from the likes of Ferrari and Porsche.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The car was a precursor to the Testarossa and one of 1,007 made.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Certification is a necessary precursor for allowing a vehicle to approach the orbiting laboratory.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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What's Next Chinese research ship operations in neighboring maritime zones are likely to remain a source of controversy as the country continues to strengthen its posture in the region.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
A lot of the information being funneled to him and his peers from news sources wasn't clear.—
David Ferrara,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Archetype.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetype. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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