as in grandmother
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Recent Examples of foremother
No one emerges at the end of the book as entirely good or bad (save, perhaps, for Busia, Regan’s culinary foremother).
—
Makana Eyre, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2023
In a year when avant-pop stars such as Rosalía thrilled with volcanic vocals and cybernetic beats, their foremother dug in yet-stranger soil.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2022
Taking inspiration from her literary foremother Zora Neale Hurston, Walker centers southern Black women, who are all too often misrepresented in American culture.
—Usa Today Staff, USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2021
The Houston exhibit, conceived by White and co-curator Jill Dawsey, explores Saint Phalle’s avant-garde status and how her resistance establishes her as a foremother of such contemporary artists as Tschabalala Self, Katie Stout, and Rachel Feinstein.
—Amarie Gipson, Town & Country, 4 Sep. 2021
See All Example Sentences for foremother
Makana Eyre, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2023
In a year when avant-pop stars such as Rosalía thrilled with volcanic vocals and cybernetic beats, their foremother dug in yet-stranger soil.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2022
Taking inspiration from her literary foremother Zora Neale Hurston, Walker centers southern Black women, who are all too often misrepresented in American culture.
—Usa Today Staff, USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2021
The Houston exhibit, conceived by White and co-curator Jill Dawsey, explores Saint Phalle’s avant-garde status and how her resistance establishes her as a foremother of such contemporary artists as Tschabalala Self, Katie Stout, and Rachel Feinstein.
—Amarie Gipson, Town & Country, 4 Sep. 2021
See All Example Sentences for foremother
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foremother
Noun
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Even though her grandmother hadn't needed a stem cell transplant, seeing her struggle with illness and undergo chemotherapy was a life-changing experience for Coiro.—
Wendy Grossman Kantor,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
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Not long afterward, his grandmother, who had helped raised him, called me.—
Jennifer Gonnerman,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, Alice, Dana’s ancestress, never becomes much more than a moral quandary: a stubborn victim who is unable to adapt.—
Julian Lucas,
The New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2021
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Yang Asha is the mythical ancestress of the Miao people, an ethnic minority in China closely related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia.—
Keith Bradsher,
New York Times,
26 Nov. 2020
Noun
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In the musical, Levy portrays Mother, the matriarch of a wealthy white family, who discovers her self-confidence and independence.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
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In 1972, the Sunday Times published an obituary for Flo, Flint’s mother and the dominant matriarch, after she was found face down on the edge of a stream.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For someone like Eli, then, projecting movie-star-like virility and vigor was an exercise in social advancement, in distancing himself from his babushka forebears’ grim reality.—
David Kamp,
New Yorker,
4 Oct. 2025
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Our forebears turned orchards into neighborhoods that welcomed us.—
Belal Aftab,
Mercury News,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In 2024, some 75 representatives gathered in Pegli, near Genoa, their ancestors’ home.—
Miquel Ros,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
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Dogs’ tendency to chase or bark at cats often stems from their natural prey drive, a leftover instinct from their wild ancestors.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foremother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foremother. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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