variants
also forbears
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forebears
The album only passingly cares about the signature dance-pop gunk of its 2010s and ’20s peers and forebears and doesn’t (like songs by Gomez, Addison Rae, and others) spend much time exploring Lana Del Rey as a subgenre.
—
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Once upon a time, scholars thought that human evolution was a march of progress in which our forebears evolved in linear fashion from an apelike ancestor to a series of increasingly humanlike forms.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Once upon a time, scholars thought that human evolution was a march of progress in which our forebears evolved in linear fashion from an apelike ancestor to a series of increasingly humanlike forms.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebears
Noun
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This is where our ancestors died protecting a way of life.—
Richard B. Williams,
Denver Post,
10 Sep. 2025
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By this time, humans had arrived in North America, likely via the same Bering Land Bridge used by the lions’ ancestors.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Male dogs aren't exactly doting fathers.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Brett Eagleson and Elizabeth Miller both lost their fathers in the attack.—
September 11,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Now a young man, he's recently started a new chapter as an Army private first class and plans to follow in his father's and grandfathers’ military footsteps.—
Susan Young,
People.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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The pride of Santa Elena's silletero families is palpable, with everyone from young children to grandmothers and grandfathers tracing the route of the culminating parade carrying their creations on their backs.—
Carley Rojas Ávila,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forebears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebears. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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