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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One theory points to Buddhist monks, who would light lanterns on the 15th day of the holiday to honor Buddha—an act that evolved into a way for families to pay tribute to ancestors.—
Sarah Buder,
AFAR Media,
20 Oct. 2025
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First Alert 4 reported that this counterfeit note was marked as ancestor money, a symbolic bill burned as a ritual offering in Chinese culture.—
Sabrina Weiss,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Smith and Christian’s respective grandfathers were their catalysts into vintage fashion.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Oct. 2025
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After his mother’s death, he was sent to study Urdu and Islamic calligraphy at his grandfather’s madrassa in Sidhpur, Gujarat.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The topic of nepotism came up in a new interview with Skarsgård in Vulture, when the outlet pointed out that many of his eight children — including Bill, Alexander, and Gustaf — have become actors like their father.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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Unless another boy was injured, a boy with a father who resembled me.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearer. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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