as in ancestors
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 forefathers
And while the words may sting, our forefathers would surely agree that the First Amendment exists precisely to protect even the harshest political speech.
—
Letters To The Editor, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025
The composer mashes together elements of forefathers who were themselves notorious mashers-up of traditions.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Letters To The Editor, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025
The composer mashes together elements of forefathers who were themselves notorious mashers-up of traditions.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forefathers
Noun
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The same knowing that my ancestors must have held, that beauty and resilience are not separate things.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
22 Oct. 2025
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Ludwig’s distant paternal ancestors were in fact German Jewish merchants, not warlike princes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 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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Once the territory of grandfathers and sitcom nerds, sweater vests have had a resurgence over the last decade.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The new season, which marks the first under iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network, will go beyond the original premise of interviewing famous fathers.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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What YouTube and these social platforms have done is allow people to create entire media groups speaking to very particular communities—to South Asian women or, say, gay fathers over forty.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forefathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forefathers. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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