Synonyms of forebear

forebear

noun

ˈfȯr-ˌber 

variants also forbear

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ancestor
• grandfather
• father
• forefather
• progenitor
• forebearer
• primogenitor
• grandmother
• predecessor
• ancestry
• patriarch
• matriarch
• ancestress
• foremother
• antecessor
• grandsire
• antecedents
• sire
• roots

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• descendant
• family
• children
• offspring
• lineage
• progeny
• issue
• stock
• seed
• posterity
• son
• successor
• daughter
• heir
• inheritor
• scion

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of forebear

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

Reopening the door to China in 1972, Richard Nixon reawakened his forebears’ dream of making China embrace American-style democracy and capitalism. — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026

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