as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
our forefathers bought this farm, and our family has worked it for three generations
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Recent Examples of forefather
Instead, Zinke told Outside that his vision for public land management comes from the forefathers of the U.S. National Parks.
—
Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 19 May 2025
Transportation secretaries normally have little to do with tariff policy, but Duffy has presented himself as one of the intellectual forefathers of Trump’s current trade agenda.
—Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 19 May 2025
The triumphs of his forefathers, the great king Akbar and Shah Jahan, have been written out of history textbooks, Rezavi said, or not taught in schools.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 18 Apr. 2025
Boland is one of them, as well as a forefather of the Red Dirt genre.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forefather
Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 19 May 2025
Transportation secretaries normally have little to do with tariff policy, but Duffy has presented himself as one of the intellectual forefathers of Trump’s current trade agenda.
—Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 19 May 2025
The triumphs of his forefathers, the great king Akbar and Shah Jahan, have been written out of history textbooks, Rezavi said, or not taught in schools.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 18 Apr. 2025
Boland is one of them, as well as a forefather of the Red Dirt genre.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forefather
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forefather
Noun
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That was how your ancestors lived for almost all of human history.—
John C. Goodman,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
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And yet, for us, the memory of our ancestors’ strength and courage during times even more trying than ours is a grounding force.—
Brad Riew,
People.com,
29 July 2025
Noun
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Just across the river from Wilmington, on the other side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the Scott’s Auto repair shop founded by his grandfather has been a mainstay in Carneys Point, N.J., since 1978.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
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Back in November 2023, Johnson proudly showed off that his granddaughter had dressed up just like her NBA player grandfather.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
24 July 2025
Noun
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The son of Joseph, a Native Hawaiian painter, and Coni, an artist largely of European descent, he was born in Honolulu but mostly raised by his mother in Iowa while spending several summers in Hawaii with his father.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
1 Aug. 2025
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His father, Santiago Jiménez Sr., and grandfather, Patricio Jiménez, were stewards of traditional conjunto music.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forefather.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forefather. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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