1
as in precursors
one that announces or indicates the later arrival of another
the return of the swallows is traditionally regarded as a forerunner of spring
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in ancestors
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 & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forerunners
Even the Hammurabi Code, a set of laws created by the sixth Babylonian king in approximately 1760 bce, established forerunners of today’s interest rate and minimum wage laws.
—
Chris Roush, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
These were the forerunners of today’s robots.
—Munis Raza, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
And these projects may just be the forerunners.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
With little support for the WHO among Republicans — who control both the House and the Senate — there has been no push from Congress to hold the country to the provision set out by their forerunners.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 21 Jan. 2026
Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The primacy of a central meeting space can be traced to the Greek Empire with the agora, among other forerunners.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Chris Roush, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
These were the forerunners of today’s robots.
—Munis Raza, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
And these projects may just be the forerunners.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
With little support for the WHO among Republicans — who control both the House and the Senate — there has been no push from Congress to hold the country to the provision set out by their forerunners.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 21 Jan. 2026
Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The primacy of a central meeting space can be traced to the Greek Empire with the agora, among other forerunners.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forerunners
Noun
-
These foods don’t have sky-high amounts of melatonin, and some contain more precursors to melatonin than the hormone itself, Tahir says.—
Sarah Klein,
Time,
28 May 2026
-
People across the country are seeking millions through federal tort claims, precursors to possible lawsuits.—
Andrea Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
In her book Fresh Banana Leaves, Indigenous scientist and scholar Jessica Hernandez meditates on the meaning of the banana plant within the ecologies of her ancestors across what is now Mexico and El Salvador.—
Sophia Rey,
JSTOR Daily,
28 May 2026
-
Crocodilian ancestors have persisted through mass extinctions, dramatic climate shifts and ecological upheavals that have eradicated countless other lineages.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
-
In recent years, there have also been reports of vandalism and attacks on robotaxis and delivery robots, which some see as harbingers of a high-tech future not everyone asked for.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The many new elements are deeper and much more exciting than their predecessors.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
2 June 2026
-
Marrero’s travel appears to exceed similar trips taken by his predecessors.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The reason is that the 1996 Ferrari 550 Maranello’s arrival was one of the heralds of the Ferrari of today, the one building cars with both world-beating performance and everyday usability.—
Will Sabel Courtney,
Robb Report,
28 May 2026
-
This ground-hugging perennial heralds the arrival of spring with a regal display of fragrant blooms.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Recently, believers have moved away from physical explanations entirely, theorizing that aliens might be interdimensional beings, spiritual entities or modern encounters with angels and demons.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
This doesn’t go down well with some of his fellow angels, who prefer the original plan.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
His deputies and outriders are not quite so deft.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
21 Sep. 2025
-
Churchill Downs outriders, jockey agents, jockeys Florent Geroux and Julian Leperoux, as well as members of Lukas' barn staff also sat in the crowd.—
Stephanie Kuzydym,
Louisville Courier Journal,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
But there are signs of real life going on too, which is always a good thing.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, for example, the spectral biosignatures of carbon dioxide and methane may overlap, leading to the gasses being confused with each other and signs of life being dismissed or lost.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forerunners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forerunners. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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