ARCHETYPES Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

archetypes

noun

plural of archetype

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

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

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 archetypes However, for this, our sixth annual edition, there was still no shortage of Van Wilder seventh-year archetypes. — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 24 July 2026 The fall 2026 collection is supported with a new campaign that reflects this and unfolds through a series of intimate, voyeuristic vignettes that bring the archetypes to life. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 23 July 2026 These archetypes, once commonplace, are an endangered species, a style of ballplayer that belongs to the past. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 5 July 2026 The sessions went so well that Morali asked Willis to front the group, which adopted campy archetypes of masculinity — cop, cowboy and construction worker among them — in their stage costumes. — Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 Most of the comedy lies in drawing out the characters’ ridiculous attempts to fit into crime movie archetypes — but more than once, this only draws attention to the film’s own failure to meet the standards of its genre. — Elena Lazic, Variety, 26 June 2026 That also was the case with weapons, where only half or so of weapon archetypes were dedicated anti-champion picks. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026 In astrology, all 12 archetypes have a unique expression, element and modality. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026 Taskmaster contestants fall into a number of archetypes. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetypes

Noun

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
One of the forerunners today in Madeira and the Azores is António Maçanita from Azores Wine Company.

— Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of forerunners

Noun

Like most meat-grinder, non-auteur streaming originals, The Dink — named for an often-decisive drop shot — has the bland sheen of an insurance commercial.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 July 2026
The band’s newest collection, Foreign Tongues, mixes rock and blues, originals and covers – the same styles and approaches the Rolling Stones have been melding for decades.

— Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

Definition of originals

Noun

At some point in the mid-1850s, the river Padma suddenly carved a new path through the village of his ancestors in modern-day Bangladesh, flooding their homes and scattering them across the Indian subcontinent.

— Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
All across the United States, federal soldiers rounded up our Native American ancestors like cattle, pushing them into prison camps, many of which later became reservations.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Definition of ancestors

Noun

Adding to the hype factor of the event, Funko is known to give away prototypes of its figures via raffles or trivia contests.

— Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2026
Since then the team has been working on the prototypes, using 3D printing to enhance the aids to further restore patients’ sense of smell.

— Hannah Docter-Loeb, Scientific American, 24 July 2026

Definition of prototypes

Noun

Laboratory demonstrations have already shown production pathways for lubricant precursors, munition components, active pharmaceutical ingredients, bioplastics, and single-cell proteins.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026
In this study, published last month in Science, researchers found that as mice got close to the end of their pregnancies, placental levels of NAD+ and its precursors dropped off fast.

— Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 20 July 2026

Definition of precursors

Noun

Mia Bieniemy, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, was shot Sunday night at their home in Virginia, sources confirmed to The Star.

— Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 28 July 2026
At scale, human annotation teams produce varying quality across data sources.

— Lucas Zhao, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of sources

Noun

The first 20 examples, numbered 001–020/00R, were reserved for supporters of François-Paul Journe's Tourbillon Souverain souscription program, whose deposits helped finance the fledgling manufacture.

— Anthony DeMarco, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Enhertu and Padcev are examples of ADCs that have extended survival by 10 and 15 months in breast and bladder cancer, respectively.

— Roderick Wong, Fortune, 25 July 2026

Definition of examples

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archetypes

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“Archetypes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetypes. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of archetypes

noun

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