forebears

noun

variants also forbears
plural of forebear
as in ancestors
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent his forebears came to America on the Mayflower

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of forebears Pulling on a long rope of influences that begins with the Wilsons and runs through British prog, bedroom pop, and chillwave, Doomed is a serene and satisfying collection which, like its forebears, makes a personal matter of universal consciousness. — Ryan Meehan, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026 Their forebears at the Academy snubbed canonical documentaries like The Thin Blue Line, Roger & Me, and Hoop Dreams. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 First our forebears began to imitate peers learned behaviors, creating group norms that supported coordinated work. — Michael Morris, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026 Plant paid special attention to forebears and contemporaries. — Chris Willman, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026 Some of his forebears emigrated before the genocide; others barely got out. — Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 19 July 2026 Over the years, a number of prominent mathematicians tried to prove this guess of their forebears. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 14 July 2026 Their trajectories have diverged and sometimes overlapped in the 125 years since their forebears moved through the same dusty streets on one November day. — CBS News, 12 July 2026 For anyone wanting to see or experience the sites and vestiges of Miami’s ancient inhabitants, the people known as Tequesta and their even more enigmatic Archaic forebears, there are only a few places to go. — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebears
  1. ancestors
  2. grandfathers
  3. fathers
Noun
  • Throughout the region, remains of 5,500 ancestors that were displaced have been made available for return to the Tohono O’odham Nation, according to ProPublica’s NAGPRA database.
    — Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 2 Nov. 2026
  • What began as a personal offering to her ancestors evolved into a recognizable symbol of cultural visibility across the city.
    — Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of ancestors
Noun
  • Tommy Carr, whose grandfathers are College Hall of Famers and brother is Notre Dame's quarterback, successfully filled in for Underwood in a comeback win against the Nittany Lions.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Quimby’s mom, grandmother, both grandfathers and friends all contributed, with friends traveling from Maine and Naples to help with the finishing touches.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of grandfathers
Noun
  • Seeking election to the state legislature on Tuesday are some homeschooling mothers, a couple of homeschooling fathers, a grandfather and a recently graduated homeschooled student.
    — Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The fathers of both the husband and wife confirmed their identities to the outlet Monday.
    — Stephen Sorace , Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of fathers

Browse Nearby Words

forebearers
forebears
forebode
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Forebears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebears. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of valorous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All