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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forefathers
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
My forefathers helped form the Soviet identity and its rituals, even before there was a country to promote them.
—
Andrew Fedorov,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
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
My forefathers helped form the Soviet identity and its rituals, even before there was a country to promote them.
—
Andrew Fedorov,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forefathers
Noun
-
Kean comes from a long line of public servants, stretching 250 years to the country’s founding when one of his ancestors became New Jersey’s first leader since independence.
-
The driving force for the tour is the idea that Black Americans and Muslims must unapologetically tell their own story, something their ancestors couldn’t do.
Noun
-
One of his great-great-grandfathers, Ned, was enslaved in Texas before being freed on Juneteenth.
-
Happy Father’s Day to fathers everywhere — birth fathers, stepfathers, adoptive and foster fathers, grandfathers, and all of you caring men who mentor children and fill the role of absent dads.
Noun
-
Russert and Sanders Townsend have bonded over losing their fathers.
-
That would have been unlikely just a few years ago — when laws in this Muslim-majority nation forbade women freedom of travel without permission from husbands or fathers.
Cite this Entry
“Forefathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forefathers. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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