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lineages

noun

plural of lineage
1
as in ancestries
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 families
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 lineages The researchers have shared their findings with the IUCN, whose upcoming review will assess the five lineages separately. — CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2026 When a massive asteroid impact triggered a global extinction 66 million years ago, almost all dinosaurs and early bird lineages died out. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026 In the healing traditions of northern Peru, curanderos, or traditional healers, usually train through years of apprenticeship, often within family lineages. — Pardis Mahdavi, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026 In addition, the way in initial cases occurred in clusters within the market and the distribution of the earliest viral lineages, is consistent with the likelihood that several separate animal-to-human spillover events took place in late 2019. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Aug. 2026 Rather than reflecting genuinely absent enzymes, these gaps could simply mirror methodological limitations in the phylogenetic reconstruction that prevented the identification of all the original ancient enzymes in bacterial and archaean lineages. — Philip Ball, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026 The fossil indicates that lineages closely related to the Euparkeriidae were also present in South America, highlighting the continent’s role in the early diversification of the relatives of dinosaurs and crocodiles. — The Conversation, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026 So there seems to be something actively problematic with the DNA from those lineages in these regions. — ArsTechnica, 31 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lineages
  1. ancestries
  2. families
  3. pedigrees
  4. tribes
  5. genealogies
  6. clans
  7. origins
  8. houses
Noun
  • But Shanes questioned whether grouping Jews under a single ethnic category would produce sufficiently specific data for those purposes, or instead obscure differences among Jewish populations with distinct ancestries.
    — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • This technique overcomes limitations of older methods like genotyping arrays, which were often biased towards European ancestries and less accurate.
    — William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of ancestries
Noun
  • In Uganda, as in South Sudan, millions depend on subsistence agriculture to feed their families.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
  • September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time to honor the lives lost to suicide, to stand with the families and communities suicide has touched, and to renew our commitment to prevention.
    — Courtney Marx, Sun Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of families
Noun
  • Global flavors with local pedigrees provide the secret sauce for Seattle’s culinary scene.
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The cast has become a kind of living monument to New York theater, with Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Donna Murphy, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, and many others bringing Broadway pedigrees to the series.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of pedigrees
Noun
  • The Houthis have run into stiff resistance from local tribes, Basha told CNN.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2026
  • California is an example of a state in which prediction markets are available even though only tribes may legally offer gambling.
    — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of tribes
Noun
  • Sometimes, though, these genealogies of behavior can seem beside the point, serving only to dull one’s analysis of the situation.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The scientists’ method reconstructs genealogies, or maps showing where different pieces of DNA came from and how they were passed down, revealing branches of our evolutionary past.
    — Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of genealogies
Noun
  • Ali Mahmoud Ali, the group's Sudan analyst, said that the latest clashes risk bringing in more Nuba clans into the fight and could increase divisions across South Kordofan, where communities are facing an already dire humanitarian situation.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • All Palestinian clans and families in Gaza would also be a target for disarmament, which would have an impact on the future of Hamas and Palestinian armed struggle.
    — Mkhaimar Abusada, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of clans
Noun
  • Also, its rolling olive oil cart, replete with its own menu describing the oils’ characteristics and origins, allows passengers to sample many.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The author recently spoke with David Remnick on The New Yorker Radio Hour, about the origins of the Second Amendment.
    — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of origins
Noun
  • Every September, around 830 boys from ages 13 to 18 take planes, trains, and automobiles to install themselves in their boarding houses at Harrow on the Hill.
    — Ashley Baker, Vanity Fair, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The 40-year-old designer is part of a whole class of millennials working for historical fashion houses who have been tasked with making young shoppers feel things.
    — Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of houses

Browse Nearby Words

lineage
lineages
lineal
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Cite this Entry

“Lineages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lineages. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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