1
as in forerunners
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in originals
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
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Recent Examples of archetypes
Kumail Nanjiani weaponizes workplace desperation into vibrant tension as rival Toyota salesman Peyton, while Kate Berlant and Colin Jost elevate the surrounding community of neighborly archetypes through charisma alone.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 May 2026
And what new archetypes will emerge when the enterprise itself becomes fully cognitive?
—Motaz Agamawi, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Ishaq has made a film peopled with women and boys who go beyond simple archetypes, setting joyful female solidarity against omnipresent conflict in a way designed to communicate with a broad demographic.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 May 2026
Much like every fan-favorite series fueled by addictive storylines and complex character archetypes, Off Campus has fans unapologetically choosing their (hockey) player.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 21 May 2026
Some experts suspect that there may be several volcano archetypes — ones that prefer to throw out lava, for instance, or the especially explosive kind.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026
CEOs can use these as reference archetypes to map their organization against, identify the one that most closely matches its profile, and draw from the lessons that follow.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 2 May 2026
Each of these archetypes serves a distinct narrative purpose.
—Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
The on-set archetypes of a Chinese film crew paralleled those of Hollywood.
—Chang Che, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 May 2026
And what new archetypes will emerge when the enterprise itself becomes fully cognitive?
—Motaz Agamawi, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Ishaq has made a film peopled with women and boys who go beyond simple archetypes, setting joyful female solidarity against omnipresent conflict in a way designed to communicate with a broad demographic.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 May 2026
Much like every fan-favorite series fueled by addictive storylines and complex character archetypes, Off Campus has fans unapologetically choosing their (hockey) player.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 21 May 2026
Some experts suspect that there may be several volcano archetypes — ones that prefer to throw out lava, for instance, or the especially explosive kind.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026
CEOs can use these as reference archetypes to map their organization against, identify the one that most closely matches its profile, and draw from the lessons that follow.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 2 May 2026
Each of these archetypes serves a distinct narrative purpose.
—Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
The on-set archetypes of a Chinese film crew paralleled those of Hollywood.
—Chang Che, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetypes
Noun
-
Even the Hammurabi Code, a set of laws created by the sixth Babylonian king in approximately 1760 bce, established forerunners of today’s interest rate and minimum wage laws.—
Chris Roush,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The group's social media pages are full of videos of the members singing and dancing to covers of popular songs, plus a few originals, as well as immigration updates set to familiar tracks.—
Max Bacall , Tessa Hoyos , Nikos DeGruccio,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
-
Elizabeth says her best finds are from Artfully Walls—and originals by Ansel and Felix.—
Ella Field,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
Velociraptors and microraptors were not birds, but they were closely related to ancestors of the earliest birds, such as Archaeopteryx.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
-
The behavior may be inherited from wild ancestors Why dogs like grass in the first place is harder to answer.—
Niranjana Rajalakshmi,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Hermeus is pursuing this goal through a series of prototypes, each designed to test a different portion of the flight envelope, from taxiing and takeoff through to high-speed supersonic flight.—
David Szondy
June 04,
New Atlas,
4 June 2026
-
Current laboratory prototypes have surpassed 1,200 Wh/kg, which is over four times the performance of today’s production electric vehicles.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Many scientists believe that the vocal systems of great apes were too limited to be considered precursors of human language, but the work of Crockford, Berthet and their colleagues suggests otherwise.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
-
These foods don’t have sky-high amounts of melatonin, and some contain more precursors to melatonin than the hormone itself, Tahir says.—
Sarah Klein,
Time,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
The coalition is urging the state to find new sources of funding for the work.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
Authorities currently believe the woman shot the man and children before shooting herself, The LA Times reports, citing law enforcement sources.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Randy Colman, president and CEO of Goodman Jewish Family Services, thanked the survivors for being living examples of perseverance and strength.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
3 June 2026
-
These examples are among the more tame messages — many are laced with profanity and references to violence.—
Maven Navarro
June 3,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Archetypes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetypes. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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