grandmother

noun

Definition of grandmothernext
as in matriarch
the mother of your father or mother

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grandmother Mildred’s is named for Joe’s grandmother, a nurse and hostess from Walla Walla who moved here with her husband, who became the first internal medicine doctor at one of New Orleans’ long-running hospitals. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026 Named after the brothers’ maternal grandmother, born enslaved, the Brockman Gallery was a flourishing, ongoing act of self-determination in the wake of the 1965 Watts Rebellion. — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 The experience reminded Ripert of the apple tarts his grandmother and mother made for him after school. — Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2026 For the most part, her sweeping narrative alternates in four movements between John, born into a musical family in Dublin, and Adelaide, who was orphaned soon after her birth in Pondicherry, French India, and brought up by her imperious grandmother. — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for grandmother
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandmother
  1. matriarch
  2. ancestress
  3. ancestor
  4. foremother
Noun
  • The matriarch urges the headstrong girl to be more ambitious and ingratiating – in order to attract a good husband.
    — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But this hurting, mad-eyed matriarch is already too far gone.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of matriarch
Noun
  • 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
  • His own mother, aged ninety, who remembered her aunt, had been able to share stories of their ancestress with the grandchildren who’d had no idea, before now, what their background might be.
    — Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
Definition of ancestress
Noun
  • The ancestors of today’s trees are some 20,000 times older than the oldest cities.
    — Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • That would mean their ancestors had already reached the continent before the split occurred.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of ancestor
Noun
  • Through our hair and its many rituals, remain the herbalism of our foremothers in the new world, passing down their ingenuity of homemade balms, creams, and oils for hair growth.
    — Eshe Ukweli, refinery29.com, 7 June 2023
  • In fact, precursors to modern bleaching processes didn’t come on the scene until the turn of the 20th century, leaving our foremothers and forefathers plenty of time to get creative with their blonde pursuits.
    — AJ Willingham, CNN, 28 May 2023
Definition of foremother

Browse Nearby Words

grandly
grandmother
grandmothers
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Cite this Entry

“Grandmother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandmother. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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