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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of archetypes
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
Its characters consist of identifiable archetypes.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 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
There’s a lot of, kind of hockey player archetypes — the flashy, cocky European superstar, that’s definitely a type.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
With a mix of archetypes, monomyths, imagery, and characters, something beautiful begins to emerge.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
Despite the jeweler’s eye for detail, though, Saariaho has created an array of archetypes, not a cast of humans who might develop, relating to one another in evolving ways.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026
Its characters consist of identifiable archetypes.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 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
There’s a lot of, kind of hockey player archetypes — the flashy, cocky European superstar, that’s definitely a type.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
With a mix of archetypes, monomyths, imagery, and characters, something beautiful begins to emerge.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
Despite the jeweler’s eye for detail, though, Saariaho has created an array of archetypes, not a cast of humans who might develop, relating to one another in evolving ways.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 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 list was mostly made up for the originals and the three prequels, with a couple Disney TV installments (Andor) mixed in.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
The Switch 2's Joy-Con 2 controllers feel similar to the originals and have almost identical designs.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
The group of 80-some species has ancestors going back tens of millions of years, originating in Asia.—
Craig Stanford,
Big Think,
7 May 2026
-
The Declaration had many ancestors.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Panthalassa has already tested several earlier prototypes of the wave energy converter technology, including the Ocean-1 in 2021 and the Ocean-2 that underwent a three-week sea trial off the coast of Washington state in February 2024.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
5 May 2026
-
Given it was going to be a big show, Joey Gee began patterning early prototypes of hats and accessories with her assistant in February.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
And then, thanks to the precursors to the storm that ultimately ended the first round early — the wind, above all else — the weather made the last few shots on the course brutal.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
8 May 2026
-
Particularly, single-source precursors — essentially all-in-one starter molecules — were used to observe the material’s transformation step by step.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
-
But sources inside the island involved in delivering the aid, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, said the Catholic Church’s infrastructure would not be able to handle a massive influx of humanitarian aid.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
As examples go, many clubs in Italy could do worse than follow Sassuolo, particularly at a time when there is so much gloom about the state of the game in the bel paese.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
-
Both nations represent the best examples of Western civilization.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Archetypes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetypes. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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