FOREBEAR Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

forebear

noun

ˈfȯr-ˌber

variants also forbear

Definition of forebear

as in ancestor

a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent his forebears came to America on the Mayflower

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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 forebear For 17 generations, Wietse Van Der Werf’s forebears toiled as dockworkers, shipbuilders, and sea captains in the Netherlands and its colonies. — Richard Morgan, Time, 29 June 2026 Eight Dukes of Wellington and two very full centuries on from that 1825 procession, on this June 16, the 9th Duke rode, as each of his forbears did and as the future heirs to the ducal title will do, in the lead carriage with the king to open Royal Ascot. — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 Since then, Istanbul has seen only mayors from his AKP party and its forebears, the Welfare and Virtue parties. — Kaya Genç, The Dial, 9 June 2026 In 1786, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited the site to see where, almost a century and a half earlier, their forebears had fought to dethrone a king, showing the world that another system of government was possible. — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for forebear

Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebear

Noun

Those with the funds to file a court case, essentially suing the Italian state for sexism against their female ancestors, are likely to win, but legal action is lengthy and costly.

— Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
Therefore, this benefit must reach everyone, not only those whose ancestors match the reference sets from past decades.

— William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestor

Noun

Collinson was introduced to Running 4 Heroes through his grandfather, Richard Collinson, who was a former volunteer EMS chief for Linwood Rescue Squad in South Jersey.

— Elijah Megginson, AJC.com, 31 July 2026
Selling the place was impossible until the siblings could figure out what to do with their grandfather’s stuff, which wasn’t the usual matter of donating a few boxes and holding an estate sale.

— Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 30 July 2026

Definition of grandfather

Noun

Armstrong's family bought the home in 1944 after his father had moved them about a dozen times with his job as a government auditor.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026
The first murder is a girl slicing into her slumbering mother’s neck with a hacksaw; then her brother pounds his father’s face in with a baseball bat.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of father

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“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebear. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of forebear

noun

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