FOREFATHERS Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

forefathers

noun

plural of forefather

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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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 forefathers But the truth is that our forefathers were sufficiently individualistic to be iconoclastic. — Colin Fleming, New York Daily News, 4 July 2026 Our economic systems are not serving the people who live here, whose forefathers established this new republic, and our grandparents actualized the peak of its success. — Linh Tat, Oc Register, 4 May 2026 Moritz Grossmann was one of the forefathers of German watchmaking in Glashütte. — Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 30 Mar. 2026 The clubs, civic organizations and community events that once brought our forefathers together are largely fading away. — Judith Martin, Dallas Morning News, 10 Mar. 2026 The Nuggets forefathers witnessed him before the rest of Denver, as if it was meant to be that Jamal Murray would become one of them. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2026 Yet, without ceasing, another generation of Puerto Ricans pick up the mantle to chant in the streets and fight for their country, out of love for their forefathers and foremothers. — Taylor Crumpton, Time, 10 Feb. 2026 Our forefathers fought the American Revolution to get away from a tyrannical monarch and indifferent legislators, not to create our own homegrown version of it. — Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026 The Philadelphia Art Museum, the National Constitution Center, the Museum of the American Revolution, and smaller outfits like Eastern State Penitentiary and Historic Germantown will, as expected, reimagine the history of our republic in an homage to the forefathers’ ingenuity. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for forefathers

Noun

While Silicon Valley has since moved on to shaping the future of artificial intelligence, these hardware enthusiasts are intent on saving the Atari, Commodore and IBM machines that are ancestors to today’s laptops, wearable devices and smartphones.

— Terry Chea, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Long before dinosaurs ruled the continents and modern crocodiles first appeared, their ancestors were already going through a decisive phase in their evolutionary history.

— The Conversation, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestors

Noun

Born in Russell County, Virginia, Hubbard was largely raised by his grandfathers, both union coal miners with missing fingers, and still speaks with an Appalachian twang.

— Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
Sorrell, whose grandfathers both played in the majors, slugged 23 home runs and 20 doubles in 56 games while drawing 33 walks and striking out 61 times.

— Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026

Definition of grandfathers

Noun

All of them are concerned with legacy, particularly among fathers and daughters (Shakespeare had two and lost his only son), and all of them touch a realm beyond the mundane — a place of gods and dreams, oracles and enchantment.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026
In one nationally representative study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, 81% of adult children who experienced estrangement from their mothers later became unestranged, as did 69% of those estranged from their fathers.

— Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of fathers

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forefather

forefathers

forefeel

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“Forefathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forefathers. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of forefathers

noun

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