as in pioneering
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Recent Examples of pathbreaking
Into the tumult come two new books that focus on some of the most pathbreaking journalists of the 1930s and ’40s.
—
Casey Schwartz, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
One of them is a 33-year-old woman from Wisconsin who cooked under the pathbreaking modernist Ferran Adrià, the purist sushi master Jiro Ono and the great codifier and systematizer of French haute cuisine, Auguste Escoffier.
—Pete Wells, New York Times, 2 June 2025
SpaceX has proven to be a pathbreaking effort to build commercial rocket ships.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
War was Roosevelt’s excuse to justify a pathbreaking third term.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 29 Nov. 2024
So that was a pathbreaking achievement and became the pride of the Telugu people.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 Aug. 2023
Espy mentioned those remarks in his announcement video, emphasizing his pathbreaking role as Mississippi's first black congressman since Reconstruction.
—NBC News, 13 Nov. 2019
In her 2008 run, Clinton had been reluctant to emphasize her pathbreaking role.
—Jeet Heer, New Republic, 14 Sep. 2017
Casey Schwartz, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
One of them is a 33-year-old woman from Wisconsin who cooked under the pathbreaking modernist Ferran Adrià, the purist sushi master Jiro Ono and the great codifier and systematizer of French haute cuisine, Auguste Escoffier.
—Pete Wells, New York Times, 2 June 2025
SpaceX has proven to be a pathbreaking effort to build commercial rocket ships.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
War was Roosevelt’s excuse to justify a pathbreaking third term.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 29 Nov. 2024
So that was a pathbreaking achievement and became the pride of the Telugu people.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 Aug. 2023
Espy mentioned those remarks in his announcement video, emphasizing his pathbreaking role as Mississippi's first black congressman since Reconstruction.
—NBC News, 13 Nov. 2019
In her 2008 run, Clinton had been reluctant to emphasize her pathbreaking role.
—Jeet Heer, New Republic, 14 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pathbreaking
Adjective
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The Thalberg, named for the pioneering MGM executive, goes to a creative producer whose body of work consistently reflects a high standard of motion picture production.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
10 June 2026
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Meanwhile, a pioneering performer who is also a prominent critic of Israel also made history at the awards.—
Philissa Cramer,
Sun Sentinel,
9 June 2026
Adjective
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The close approach, known as a lunar flyby, was a trailblazing moment in spaceflight, taking astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover of NASA, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, the farthest any human has been from Earth.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
7 Apr. 2026
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There's no doubt there's more trailblazing to be done.—
Brittany Talarico,
People.com,
24 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pathbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pathbreaking. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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