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 coal and steel organization was the first among European institutions that were precursors to what eventually became the European Union. — ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026 Depots could reconstitute expended stocks on site, as quickly as mineral precursors can be extracted and processed. — Dan Driscoll, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2026 In June, the co-founder of the citizen watchdog group, DeFlock Idaho, Tyler Cain, filed a pair of tort claims against the cities of Caldwell and Wilder — civil claims which act as possible precursors to lawsuits. — Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2026 The regulations were intended to reduce air pollution and acid rain precursors mainly from trucks and buses. — Jamie Webster, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026 This event, which resulted in the death of enslaver Edward Gorsuch, heightened tensions between the North and South and was one of the many precursors to the American Civil War. — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 11 Sep. 2026 Two other groups received Lasker Awards, which are often precursors for Nobel Prizes. — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026 These signs can be precursors to dysfunction and disease, per the researchers, including heart failure and atrial fibrillation (commonly known as AFib). — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 The Voyager launched Monday will make the closest approach to Saturn’s seventh moon, Titan — which has an atmosphere perhaps as dense as Earth’s and a surface that could be littered with the organic precursors of life. — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Sep. 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

By remaining involved in the businesses their ancestors began, these families have preserved and expanded their wealth across multiple generations while also shaping the American business landscape.

— Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2026
John Spencer, at the time heir to the Spencer earldom and styled as Viscount Althorp, was two years older than Queen Elizabeth II and descended from a long line of ancestors who served the British crown.

— Diego Parrado, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of ancestors

Noun

The usual symptoms include high fever, headache, stiffness and an overall feeling that resembles the flu.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
Turnover rates are often symptoms of larger structural challenges, some of which are inherent to trade work, the State of Skilled Trades report found.

— Itzel Franco, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of symptoms

Noun

Culture and History Crows and ravens have similarly eerie reputations as spooky harbingers of death or danger.

— Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 31 Aug. 2026
Our results, just published in the journal Science, suggest that the 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niños – two of the strongest in recent memory – may be harbingers of more extreme events to come as the planet warms.

— Julia Cole, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of harbingers

Noun

Russia invaded its neighbor more than 4 ½ years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible.

— HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Marylanders could be forgiven for believing the tide is running in favor of gerrymandering, but there are encouraging signs that the worst is over, and a better approach can prevail.

— Colin Pascal, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 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

Browse Nearby Words

precursor

precursors

precursory

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Precursors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precursors. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of precursors

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perseverate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes