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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But now, a series of tea parties with an ape named Kanzi suggests some of our closest ancestors may have this ability too.—
Suzanne Nuyen,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2026
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The findings also suggest that herbivory evolved independently in several different groups of early land vertebrates, not just in the ancestors of modern reptiles.—
Lily Hautau,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The company, Christian Brothers Hockey Sticks, was founded by his grandfather and great-uncle, 1960 Olympic hockey stars Bill and Roger Christian.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
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Kocher was a grandfather and a sucker for extra hours on the bike trails, Beckley said.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Their accounts gave me shivers of recognition—their experiences echoed my father’s stories.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
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The two become inseparable, to the dismay of Cathy’s paid companion Nelly (Vi Nguyen), and only become closer after Heathcliff takes a beating on Cathy’s behalf from her alcoholic father (Martin Clunes) for missing his birthday celebration.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearer. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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