archetypes

noun

plural of archetype
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

Relevance

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

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 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 In the same way that somebody brings something to a new Harry Potter series or a James Bond or something of that nature that has a kind of cyclical storytelling element with different repeating archetypes. — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026 The plots aren’t particularly developed or surprising, and the characters are written more as archetypes than as real people. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026 For one thing, archetypes are by definition reductive, and there are plenty of people around here who are older, or parents, or retired, or indifferent to the bar scene, or all of the above. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 2 Sep. 2026 Hsu’s office aimed to avoid both early on by refusing to name a particular style, reference familiar restaurant archetypes, or let the project become thematic. — Alexis Benveniste, Architectural Digest, 27 Aug. 2026 Perhaps that’s why the pair has striven to create fresh archetypes. — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetypes
  1. forerunners
  2. originals
  3. ancestors
  4. prototypes
  5. precursors
  6. sources
  7. examples
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
  • Pay TV operator Movistar Plus is scaling up in Spanish originals.
    — Emiliano de Pablos, Variety, 10 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 originals
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 ancestors
Noun
  • This would be followed by Blackbeard GL prototypes and a dedicated launcher pod, with the longer-term goal of conducting a minimum viable product flight test using the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System’s (HIMARS) fire-control system.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Because product managers and designers can now build working prototypes and engineers can weigh in on product decisions earlier, the work doesn’t have to be passed from hand to hand.
    — Tim Lee, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of prototypes
Noun
  • 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
  • The coal and steel organization was the first among European institutions that were precursors to what eventually became the European Union.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of precursors
Noun
  • At a moment when historically reliable sources of employment for mid-career comedians—writing for sitcoms and late night, supporting roles in film comedies, commercials—all seem to be in crisis, the podcast business is comparatively lucrative.
    — Dan Brooks, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Confidential sources Rahmer acknowledged in his testimony that there are limits to knowing who is a confidential informant or working for agencies outside the FBI.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of sources
Noun
  • Today, Japanese designers are firmly established on the vintage market and early examples can command extraordinary prices.
    — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • There were loads of other striking red carpet moments in London, too, Florence Pugh’s corseted Wiederhoeft gown and Scarlett Johansson’s red-hot custom Prada dress being two prime examples.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of examples

Browse Nearby Words

archetype
archetypes
archfiend
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Archetypes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetypes. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All