PREDECESSOR Synonyms: 25 Similar and Opposite Words

predecessor

noun

ˈpre-də-ˌse-sər

Definition of predecessor

as in forerunner

something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed the once-ubiquitous typewriter was the predecessor of today's electronic keyboard

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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 predecessor The agency is run by David Venturella, who took over as acting director after his predecessor, Todd Lyons, resigned in May. — Zac Anderson, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026 Current President Laura Fernández has upheld the policy adopted by her predecessor. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026 Linsey, who was previously BBC Controller of Entertainment in the UK and has worked for the corporation for 20 years, has been in LA for three years and Stephenson has worked at the company, and its predecessors for nearly 20 years. — Peter White, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026 The museum closure is part of new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s attempts to rectify his predecessor, Viktor Orbán’s, control of state media and arts and culture entities. — Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 16 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for predecessor

Recent Examples of Synonyms for predecessor

Noun

Dubbed the ‘American Turtle’ for its appearance, the submarine made three attempts to blow up British ships without success, but is considered the forerunner of modern submarines.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of forerunner

Noun

Their ancestors had entered the United States through Southern ports, especially New Orleans and Galveston, which gave them a different political and cultural orientation from those who had entered through the East, and above all through New York.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
While the complexities around working within a park that his ancestors had been removed from remain, Mgesi now supports much of his extended family with the steady wage.

— Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of ancestor

Noun

As far back as the 1950s, the Dutch embryologist Peter Nieuwkoop argued that the human brain’s precursor cells were all identical in the ectoderm.

— Mike McRae September 21, New Atlas, 22 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, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of precursor

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predeceasing

predecessor

predecessors

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“Predecessor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predecessor. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of predecessor

noun

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