as in founder
a person who establishes a whole new field of endeavor
Theodor Herzl is often credited as the founding father of modern Zionism
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Recent Examples of founding father
Masaryk, often simply referred to as TGM, was the founding father of independent Czechoslovakia after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
—
Jack Guy, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
In fact, Leticia was established by the Peruvian military in the 1800s and takes its name from the girlfriend of one of its founding fathers.
—John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
More than a month after his death, Ozzy Osbourne’s music has largely slipped away from the Billboard charts following the headline-grabbing news that one of rock’s founding fathers had passed away.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Building back Luke Bolander is a senior and one of the founding fathers of KU’s new Delta Upsilon chapter, which was reinstated in 2023 after a 2018 scandal where pledges were urinated on, spat on and hit repeatedly for coming forward with hazing reports, The Kansan wrote.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for founding father
Jack Guy, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
In fact, Leticia was established by the Peruvian military in the 1800s and takes its name from the girlfriend of one of its founding fathers.
—John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
More than a month after his death, Ozzy Osbourne’s music has largely slipped away from the Billboard charts following the headline-grabbing news that one of rock’s founding fathers had passed away.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Building back Luke Bolander is a senior and one of the founding fathers of KU’s new Delta Upsilon chapter, which was reinstated in 2023 after a 2018 scandal where pledges were urinated on, spat on and hit repeatedly for coming forward with hazing reports, The Kansan wrote.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for founding father
Recent Examples of Synonyms for founding father
Noun
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Paris dominated global fashion traffic, accounting for 49 percent of views compared with 25 percent for Milan, 17 percent for New York and 9 percent for London, Tagwalk founder and chief executive officer Alexandra Van Houtte said during a presentation on Thursday.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
16 Oct. 2025
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But so far, no other competitors — including Boeing and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — have been able to offer anything close to what SpaceX has.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Of that group of six, two (Weapons and Sinners) were spun whole cloth from their creators' imaginations, with The Black Phone, Final Destination, and The Conjuring follow-ons from franchises that began as original IP.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
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The brand has also gotten a boost from TikTok, where content creators share videos of their Comfort Colors products that viewers can purchase via the platform's shopping feature.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The reason the belief is so strong is because of the lessons his father, Lionel Sr,.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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It’s been two years since Nowell became the lead singer in Sublime, the same band once headed by his late father, Bradley Nowell.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Founding father.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/founding%20father. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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