as in creator
a person who establishes a whole new field of endeavor
Maria Montessori was the founder of an educational system dedicated to maximizing a child's creative potential
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to collapse
to be unsuccessful
the theater company foundered after its corporate funding dried up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to go
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure
the twin towers started to sway and suddenly foundered
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of founder
Kennedy French, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
The historic property was most recently restored by the founder of Ryanair.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2026
Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
The kid who gets straight A’s through high school may struggle more in college than the one who foundered in ninth grade, figured out what went wrong, and then kept going.
—Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for founder
Noun
Collins was a founder and chairman of C-SPAN, chaired CableLabs and served on multiple corporate boards, including Turner Broadcasting System.
—Kennedy French, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
The historic property was most recently restored by the founder of Ryanair.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2026
Verb
The Eagles entered the 2025 season with a top-tier roster and foundered with an insufficient offensive system.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2026
The kid who gets straight A’s through high school may struggle more in college than the one who foundered in ninth grade, figured out what went wrong, and then kept going.
—Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for founder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for founder
Noun
-
While the character details of many of the new cast members are unclear, Oscar nominee Sharon Stone is playing a showrunner whom Lexi (Maude Apatow) works for, according to creator Sam Levinson.—
Alyssa Davis,
PEOPLE,
13 Apr. 2026
-
In the late nineties and early two-thousands, Romania became a destination for international TV and film projects whose creators wanted to hire crews who were cheap and willing to endure unlimited hours.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Demolition and recovery operations will resume Sunday morning at the site of the parking garage that partially collapsed this week in Grays Ferry.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
As bat populations have collapsed, farmers have turned to more expensive and less effective alternatives like pesticides.—
Leah Campbell,
Hartford Courant,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the courtroom, Alfortish’s face looked gaunt after spending roughly a year in prison, and his hair, thinning now, had gone white.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The Nets, who went 26-56 last season, have lost four consecutive season finales.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Taylor is among authors such as Gregg Hurwitz and Mark Greaney who have reinvented the thriller genre.—
Oline H. Cogdill,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Apr. 2026
-
But author and television producer Eli Frankel has some ideas.—
Patrick Salland,
Kansas City Star,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The crop can be harvested at anytime, but most gardeners leave bulbs in the ground until the tops decline and flop over.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Media companies a decade ago raced to engage young, bilingual Latinos by launching start-ups, including a joint venture between ABC News and Univision called Fusion that flopped.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The first round went out on April 8 to those born on or before the 10th of a month, and the third round will go out on April 22 to those born on or after the 21st of a month.—
Asher Notheis,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The day after Carolina made those additional details about their traumatic summer public, Dahlin went out and had one of the best games of his career.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Some had Robert Carlson's signature, but many appeared to be signed by his father.—
Carol Thompson,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Set in the last year of World War II on the remote North Sea island of Amrum, the story is told from the point of view of 12-year-old Nanning (Jasper Billerbeck), whose zealot mother (Laura Tonke) is raising him as a good Nazi while his father fights in the war.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Minnesota had another power-play chance after Rantanen's slashing penalty with 2 1/2 minutes left, but failed to score even with an extra skater after pulling Filip Gustavsson out of the net.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
But that figure predates major advances in cleanup technology and fails to account for available state and federal funding.—
Charles Rilli,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Founder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/founder. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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