as in forerunners
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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Recent Examples of predecessors
But there’s growing evidence that the current shutdown is somewhat different from its predecessors.
—
Sarah Hutter, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
None of his three immediate predecessors — Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen — lasted four full seasons.
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Farley has managed to woo Wall Street more than his two most recent predecessors — both of whom departed the company after double-digit losses in Ford's stock price.
—Michael Wayland, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2025
Benson and Evans also theorize that the animal could represent a stem-squamate, the predecessors to all snakes and lizards.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 1 Oct. 2025
Many of Bad Bunny’s predecessors have used the roughly 12- to 15-minute halftime show — which is watched by more than 100 million viewers worldwide — as an opportunity to speak out against injustice.
—Raquel Reichard, Refinery29, 30 Sep. 2025
Paramount and its predecessors, under both Sumner Redstone and Shari Redstone, relied on professional CEOs to run the companies, while the Murdoch family turns to Robert Thomson to run News Corp.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025
Like its predecessors, the new tower would have eight floors, plus an additional level below ground.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2025
Trump’s predecessors Obama and Biden have long been living happily in that reality.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Sarah Hutter, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
None of his three immediate predecessors — Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen — lasted four full seasons.
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Farley has managed to woo Wall Street more than his two most recent predecessors — both of whom departed the company after double-digit losses in Ford's stock price.
—Michael Wayland, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2025
Benson and Evans also theorize that the animal could represent a stem-squamate, the predecessors to all snakes and lizards.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 1 Oct. 2025
Many of Bad Bunny’s predecessors have used the roughly 12- to 15-minute halftime show — which is watched by more than 100 million viewers worldwide — as an opportunity to speak out against injustice.
—Raquel Reichard, Refinery29, 30 Sep. 2025
Paramount and its predecessors, under both Sumner Redstone and Shari Redstone, relied on professional CEOs to run the companies, while the Murdoch family turns to Robert Thomson to run News Corp.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025
Like its predecessors, the new tower would have eight floors, plus an additional level below ground.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2025
Trump’s predecessors Obama and Biden have long been living happily in that reality.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predecessors
Noun
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Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.—
Benjamin Nathans
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Demosponges are soft and squishy filter feeders and their ancestors likely shared similar characteristics.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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The African roots of cumbia are expressed not only through its percussion instruments - the tambor alegre, the llamador and the tambora - but also through the voices of ancestors reflected in the sung dances of the region.—
Karla Gachet,
NPR,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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By the late 2010s, the precursors of ChatGPT, Gemini, and DALL-E were spluttering to life, making real the future that the Army had envisioned in World War II.—
Angus Fletcher,
Big Think,
29 Sep. 2025
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And the precursors for that reality may already be in motion, Metzger noted.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predecessors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predecessors. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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