PRECURSORS Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

precursors

noun

plural of precursor

as in forerunners

one that announces or indicates the later arrival of another 18th-century lyric poets like Robert Burns were precursors of the Romantics

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in ancestors

something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed a precursor of the modern eggplant

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 precursors Laboratory demonstrations have already shown production pathways for lubricant precursors, munition components, active pharmaceutical ingredients, bioplastics, and single-cell proteins. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026 In this study, published last month in Science, researchers found that as mice got close to the end of their pregnancies, placental levels of NAD+ and its precursors dropped off fast. — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 20 July 2026 The faction’s precursors backed ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad’s son-in-law and cousin, immediately after Muhammad’s death in 632. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 July 2026 Comets are also rich with organic compounds that could serve as precursors for biochemistry. — Darryl Z. Seligman, Scientific American, 10 July 2026 These two motivations – toward others and toward disagreement – are precursors to civility. — Deborah Mower, The Conversation, 2 July 2026 Essentially, this transition marks the point where our cells are set up with the precursors required for organ formation, one of the most critical events in human development. — New Atlas, 27 June 2026 Tort claims are necessary precursors to potential lawsuits against the government. — Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 16 June 2026 Many scientists believe that the vocal systems of great apes were too limited to be considered precursors of human language, but the work of Crockford, Berthet and their colleagues suggests otherwise. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 3 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for precursors

Noun

Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
One of the forerunners today in Madeira and the Azores is António Maçanita from Azores Wine Company.

— Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of forerunners

Noun

At some point in the mid-1850s, the river Padma suddenly carved a new path through the village of his ancestors in modern-day Bangladesh, flooding their homes and scattering them across the Indian subcontinent.

— Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
All across the United States, federal soldiers rounded up our Native American ancestors like cattle, pushing them into prison camps, many of which later became reservations.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Definition of ancestors

Noun

Ongoing monitoring generates an enormous amount of information, including sleep, activity, heart rate, blood pressure, glucose, symptoms, medications, coaching notes, and changes in behavior.

— Billee Howard, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Research suggests women with ADHD enter perimenopause years earlier than those without the disorder and experience more severe symptoms during this menopausal transition.

— Maria Godoy, NPR, 26 July 2026

Definition of symptoms

Noun

The world looked to the social elite as the ultimate harbingers of style trends and sophistication, giving them a cultural cache and, in turn, a sense of power.

— Moises Mendez II, InStyle, 29 June 2026
If canaries in coal mines were harbingers of safe conditions, surely piping plovers at Waukegan Beach mean the city is overcoming its polluted past.

— Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026

Definition of harbingers

Noun

Most dramatically, five of the bodies were hung on a highway bridge, their half-nude corpses displaying signs of torture — a macabre display that recalled the worst days of the Mexican drug wars.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026
Institutions and governments must invest long before crises unfold and continue funding past initial signs of success to ensure complete and lasting transformation.

— Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026

Definition of signs

Noun

The heralds operate like independent contractors, with their own caseloads.

— Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
The reason is that the 1996 Ferrari 550 Maranello’s arrival was one of the heralds of the Ferrari of today, the one building cars with both world-beating performance and everyday usability.

— Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 28 May 2026

Definition of heralds

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“Precursors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precursors. Accessed 30 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of precursors

noun

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