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
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
Markus — whose great-great-great-grandfather invented the nutcracker doll — makes nutcrackers for a living, as did each of his forefathers who descended from the great inventor.
—Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 15 Dec. 2025
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
Markus — whose great-great-great-grandfather invented the nutcracker doll — makes nutcrackers for a living, as did each of his forefathers who descended from the great inventor.
—Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 15 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forefathers
Noun
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The Four Freedoms awards are presented in the New Church in Middelburg, in the province of Zeeland, where Roosevelt's ancestors hail from.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Researchers studying a 250-million-year-old fossil have found the first ever proof that mammal ancestors laid eggs, with the discovery also shedding light on a remarkable survival story.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Her grandfathers were military.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
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College-age amateurs competing alongside former champions old enough to be their grandfathers is a longstanding Masters tradition.—
Jack Leo,
AJC.com,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Harry closed his Movember appearance with a message to fathers about mental health and the realities of parenthood.—
Megan Hustwaite,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
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Five fathers, including Mendez’s father, Gonzalo, who led the effort, filed the lawsuit in 1945 against school districts in Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and El Modena, which today falls under the Orange Unified School District.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forefathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forefathers. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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