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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forebear
Steinmuller followed his forebears into the shipping industry.
—
Eric Boodman, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
There is plenty about Norris to make fun of, but I’d be thrilled if today’s MAGA bros honored their forbears and were slightly less histrionic.
—John Devore, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026
That was how so many of their forebears settled here, having survived slavery and Jim Crow, working land some of the families own to this day.
—Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2026
McNair spoke, unsuccessfully, before an Alabama Legislature that wanted to limit how schools teach events, such as the bombing that killed her sister, lest White children feel guilt for the sins of their forebears.
—John Archibald, Southern Living, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forebear
Eric Boodman, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026
There is plenty about Norris to make fun of, but I’d be thrilled if today’s MAGA bros honored their forbears and were slightly less histrionic.
—John Devore, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026
That was how so many of their forebears settled here, having survived slavery and Jim Crow, working land some of the families own to this day.
—Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2026
McNair spoke, unsuccessfully, before an Alabama Legislature that wanted to limit how schools teach events, such as the bombing that killed her sister, lest White children feel guilt for the sins of their forebears.
—John Archibald, Southern Living, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forebear
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebear
Noun
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The Four Freedoms awards are presented in the New Church in Middelburg, in the province of Zeeland, where Roosevelt's ancestors hail from.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Researchers studying a 250-million-year-old fossil have found the first ever proof that mammal ancestors laid eggs, with the discovery also shedding light on a remarkable survival story.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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His grandfather’s war medals and flag are gone, too.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
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Abbott said that Kazan’s version — an adaptation of a book that her grandfather Elia Kazan mounted in 1955 — is told through that character’s eyes.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Neither could Kendall, who had spent happy teenage years there with his father, stepmother, and brothers—and was still launching his boat from a dock on the property to work his oyster beds.—
Jennifer Stewart Kornegay,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2026
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Augustine, a bishop in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, is the spiritual father of the Augustinian order of which the pontiff is a member and former leader.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebear. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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