as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
villagers who still practice many of the customs of their forebearers
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Recent Examples of forebearer
After leaving Alabama, Avinger served a year in the U.S. Army, then signed for a season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union, one of the forebearers of the Canadian Football League.
—
Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 17 Apr. 2023
Like its classic-rock forebearer Desert Trip, the concert will bring two acts per night to Indio’s Empire Polo Club, on the weekend of Oct. 6-8.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2023
Mike Brown said the digital driver license is the forebearer of discriminating against the unvaccinated.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Feb. 2022
If successful, The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, named in honor of its famous nautical forebearer and known as MAS for short, will be the first such trans-Atlantic voyage by an autonomous vessel.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2021
Our generation inherited a healthy ocean from our forebearers.
—CNN, 24 Sep. 2019
Many of our forebearers, including my great-grandfather, were undocumented immigrants, no different from Central American migrants today.
—Aaron Freedman, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2019
Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 17 Apr. 2023
Like its classic-rock forebearer Desert Trip, the concert will bring two acts per night to Indio’s Empire Polo Club, on the weekend of Oct. 6-8.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2023
Mike Brown said the digital driver license is the forebearer of discriminating against the unvaccinated.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Feb. 2022
If successful, The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, named in honor of its famous nautical forebearer and known as MAS for short, will be the first such trans-Atlantic voyage by an autonomous vessel.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2021
Our generation inherited a healthy ocean from our forebearers.
—CNN, 24 Sep. 2019
Many of our forebearers, including my great-grandfather, were undocumented immigrants, no different from Central American migrants today.
—Aaron Freedman, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebearer
Noun
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Durglo is inextricably tied to this landscape; his ancestors have lived on this land for centuries.—
Ellis Juhlin,
NPR,
18 May 2026
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The Barkindji people have shown this small, elderly dingo the same care their ancestors did.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 May 2026
Noun
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The murder trial was the capstone to a remarkable fall from grace for the personal injury lawyer, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as the local prosecutor consecutively from 1920 to 2006.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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In November 2013, Scott Hopkins -- now 67 years old and a grandfather -- goes on trial for the murder of Janet Walsh in 1979.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Noun
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Wilson’s father was a Presbyterian minister, and Wilson read the Bible daily.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
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The backstory The property was built in 1835 as a private home for Sarah Lydia Robbins Howe, whose father Edward Hutchinson Robbins served as Massachusetts’ sixth lieutenant governor.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearer. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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