as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
the family held a huge reunion to mark the 200th anniversary of their primogenitors' arrival in America
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primogenitor
Noun
-
Regardless of meaning, the markings should put these Stone Age human ancestors in a different light.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
25 Feb. 2026 -
Private is the mystery incandescence of her nacre, coveting which the likes of us killed her ancestors to make buttons, souvenirs, entire garments for ritual dancers who sought to banish their demons with her magical inner light.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
My grandfather was a prominent psychoanalyst, one of the founders of the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Chicago.—
Debra Manetta,
STAT,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Oyster House has been run by the Mink family since 1947, when Sam's grandfather bought the business.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Kim’s teenage daughter, widely believed to be named Ju Ae, again appeared prominently at the parade beside her father.—
Will Ripley,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The mother of Tilly Servin, a toddler who prosecutors believe was tortured to death in Long Beach last year, is suing Los Angeles County’s child protection agency for leaving her daughter in the custody of the child’s father, who was previously sentenced to four years in prison for child abuse.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Advertisement With Revere their progenitor, mounted messengers would over the next hours course across Middlesex County and into Essex County and Norfolk County, into the counties of Bristol and Worcester.—
Kostya Kennedy,
Time,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The key to calculating the amount of energy blasted out is realizing that the mass of a merger’s resulting black hole is not simply the sum of its progenitors.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Primogenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primogenitor. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
