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forerunner

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of forerunner

1 one that announces or indicates the later arrival of another

  • the return of the swallows is traditionally regarded as a forerunner of spring
Synonyms of forerunner

angel, foregoer, harbinger, herald, outrider, precursor
Words Related to forerunner

foreboder, foreshadower, foretaste, forewarning

advertiser, announcer, blazoner, crier, proclaimer

courier, messenger, runner

augury, auspice, boding, foreboding, foreshadowing, omen, portent, prefiguring, presage

mark, sign, symptom

bellwether

2 something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed

  • enjoyed the demonstration of the simple hand loom that was the forerunner of today's computer-controlled looms
Synonyms of forerunner

ancestor, antecedent, archetype, daddy, foregoer, granddaddy (also grandaddy), precursor, predecessor, prototype
Words Related to forerunner

model, original

originator, sire

father, mother
Near Antonyms of forerunner

by-product, derivative, offshoot, outgrowth, spin-off

daughter, son
Antonyms of forerunner

descendant (also descendent)

Synonym Discussion of forerunner

forerunner, precursor, harbinger, herald mean one that goes before or announces the coming of another. forerunner is applicable to anything that serves as a sign or presage.
    • the blockade was the forerunner of war
precursor applies to a person or thing paving the way for the success or accomplishment of another.
    • 18th century poets like Burns were precursors of the Romantics
harbinger and herald both apply, chiefly figuratively, to one that proclaims or announces the coming or arrival of a notable event.
    • their early victory was the harbinger of a winning season
    • the herald of a new age in medicine

Learn More about forerunner

  1. See words that rhyme with forerunner Dictionary: Definition of forerunner Spanish Central: Translation of forerunner Nglish: Translation of forerunner for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of forerunner for Arabic speakers

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