lineage

noun

ˈli-nē-ij How to pronounce lineage (audio)
Definition of lineagenext
1
as in ancestry
the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended his Italian lineage was very important to him

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in family
a group of persons who come from the same ancestor it is now generally accepted that the lineage of Thomas Jefferson includes black as well as white members

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 lineage Sun Eater draws a direct lineage between Nandoshi and Reality Club, a former act on the group that established a crossover audience as an English-singing Indonesian act. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 June 2026 In 2013 company leadership returned to the founding lineage with the appointment of Axel Dumas, a sixth-generation family member and nephew of Jean-Louis Dumas. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 June 2026 In Latin America, as Hayes-Bautista explained, after centuries of Indigenous and Spanish intermingling, racial and ethnic lines were fluid, with myriad, subtle gradations of color, lineage and heritage. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 The research team, led by Ellie Bourgikos and Nathan Grubaugh at the Yale School of Public Health, estimates that one of the virus’s two major lineages arrived in the Northeast by the early 1700s. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for lineage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lineage
  1. ancestry
  2. family
  3. pedigree
  4. tribe
  5. origin
  6. clan
  7. genealogy
  8. house
Noun
  • However, elites’ DNA contained genetic similarities known as runs of homozygosity — adjacent genetic markers indicating common ancestry — and their genomes tended to be more homogenous than those of non-elites.
    — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • Maybe that ancestry made Beck the wrong guy to pitch on America’s big day.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 4 July 2026
Definition of ancestry
Noun
  • The family fought for three hours last July Fourth to stay alive after more than a summer’s worth of rain fell overnight on bone-dry soil, pushing the waterway from about 3 feet to 30 feet in just 45 minutes.
    — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • History shows family successions, whether in North Korea or Syria, tend to happen through rigid authoritarian control, with the transfer of power underwritten by whoever controls the military.
    — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026
Definition of family
Noun
  • While Bosnia, 61st in the FIFA rankings, lacks the pedigree of many of those past European opponents, the Americans know this matchup won't be easy.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
  • The festival boasts a mix of Hollywood glamor and European cinema pedigree that’s impossible to replicate anywhere else.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 29 June 2026
Definition of pedigree
Noun
  • The British Army also provided protection from attacks by Native American tribes, giving many settlers little reason to support a rebellion.
    — Hank Tester, CBS News, 1 July 2026
  • Representatives from two local tribes draw a parallel between the gather and past efforts to expel their people from their ancestral lands, and say the horses are intertwined with their culture.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of tribe
Noun
  • The census ancestry and origin data are estimates based on a sample of the population and include margins of error that can be large for small population groups.
    — Albert Sun, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • Understanding the origin of life requires addressing a collection of overlapping scientific questions.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 2 July 2026
Definition of origin
Noun
  • Zeenat’s mother was a respected woman in her clan; both of Zeenat’s sisters had married into a Syed family, and her brother worked for the village head and had authority enough to report directly to the local landlord.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
  • Rhaena is cast out, but the rest of the Velaryon clan are closer than ever.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 June 2026
Definition of clan
Noun
  • Othram, based in The Woodlands, Texas, specializes in advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy, a method that can help investigators identify suspects or unknown victims when traditional law enforcement databases do not produce a match.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Investigators identified Cheryl using forensic genetic genealogy.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
Definition of genealogy
Noun
  • Now that Love's eight children are all grown up and out of the house, the family has opted to sell the home and look for something smaller near Lake Tahoe, according to the listing agency.
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026
  • Plaintiffs have used internal documents from the companies to allege that, in house, people have long recognized a correlation between NEC and the use of preterm formulas made from cow’s milk.
    — David Hilzenrath, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Definition of house

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Cite this Entry

“Lineage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lineage. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on lineage

Nglish: Translation of lineage for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lineage

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