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
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
The military forefathers of the Valley must have been horrified at the hippies their children became, though by the eighties the arc of flower power had bent toward the common ground of Wall Street.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
The original maps, with all due respect to the forefathers of FEMA, were kind of done on paper and crayon.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 18 Nov. 2025
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
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
The military forefathers of the Valley must have been horrified at the hippies their children became, though by the eighties the arc of flower power had bent toward the common ground of Wall Street.
—Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025
The original maps, with all due respect to the forefathers of FEMA, were kind of done on paper and crayon.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 18 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forefathers
Noun
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Nor can Brownfield vote in Squaxin elections, or harvest clams on the Salish Sea beaches where her ancestors did so for generations.—
David Treuer,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
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The biologists believe that early monitor lizards, including the ancestors of Australian monitors known as goannas, originally lost their osteoderms because an active, pursuit-hunting lifestyle favored speed and agility over heavy body armor.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Their twins—John and William, named for their grandfathers—were lost.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Nov. 2025
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In his latest partnership with Ancestry as part of the organization’s Thank You for Your Service campaign, Bass got to learn even more about both of his grandfathers’ service in the war.—
Stephen Daw,
Billboard,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile aimed wrathful lyrics and gallows humor at a culture of misogyny that plagued their daily lives, from condescending male musicians to abusive fathers.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
14 Jan. 2026
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Prosecutors would not comment on what type of abuse the 6-year-old girl suffered, but according to Bartlett, both Kina and a fourth child are currently in the custody of their fathers.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forefathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forefathers. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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