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 The ideology of Third Worldism and the New Agey, anything-goes-style progressivism of the West Coast that Naipaul so keenly lacerates were necessary precursors to the mass death in Guyana. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 Jack Kilby, the inventor of the integrated circuit, or microchip, and the handheld calculator—early precursors of AI. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026 There had been precursors to Five Star Weekend and Ride Or Die‘s breakthrough. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026 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

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

Essay Get the Lead Out Alex Manley Our ancestors were born to die by predators.

— Naomi Skwarna, hazlitt.net, 25 Aug. 2026
For the last decade, genealogical consultant Grant Din has helped Asian Americans find information about their ancestors, many of whom passed through San Francisco’s Angel Island Immigration Station in the 1900s.

— Stephanie Lam, Mercury News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestors

Noun

Early symptoms of contracting the amoeba can include headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

— Diego Mendoza, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
The advisory follows glutathione’s use in the Altadena and Spokane wildfires and recalls at two pharmacies, where usage was linked to fevers, chills, severe headaches and other symptoms.

— Martha Bellisle, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of symptoms

Noun

Then, after a series of eerie harbingers, the Platts discover the power and water in the house have shut off in the aftermath of an intense storm, and the atmosphere outside has turned unsettling and oddly tropical.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of harbingers

Noun

Few signs of humanity interrupted the rocky shoreline — just a couple of cabins and the wooden railings of a path leading to a wizened cedar tree revered by the tribe.

— Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Dugger was the main talking point in defensive coordinator Raheem Morris’ press conference Saturday, because all signs are pointing to Dugger having a key role in the defense.

— Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of signs

Noun

The project heralds from Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four co-directors behind 2025 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Aug. 2026
Now Pedicularis had emerged as one of the first heralds of the Arctic summer, its stems wrapped in grayish, silky hairs that protect it like a warm winter coat.

— Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of heralds

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“Precursors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precursors. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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