forebearers

noun

plural of forebearer
as in ancestors
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebearers
  1. ancestors
  2. grandfathers
  3. fathers
Noun
  • The ancestors of today’s trees are some 20,000 times older than the oldest cities.
    — Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • That would mean their ancestors had already reached the continent before the split occurred.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of ancestors
Noun
  • One of my grandfathers was in the seminary and he was killed by the Republicans.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026
  • His grandfathers are former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and Tom Curtis, an All-America defensive back for the Wolverines, and his brother is Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of grandfathers
Noun
  • Those girls in the hothouses maintained by fathers and uncles certainly would not spare a single thought for Percherette.
    — Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Nearly every player on the team is a dad, with seemingly a few players becoming first-time fathers each of the past few seasons.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of fathers
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Forebearers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearers. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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