as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
the progenitors of today's Maya once ruled a mighty empire that stretched across much of Central America
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Recent Examples of progenitor
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
Somewhere in Africa there is a city, town, or village where Henry Fordham’s progenitors lived and died for hundreds or thousands of years, where my distant relatives walk the streets today.
—Eugene Robinson, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
More interesting is how Rocky feels he’s been underrated as a progenitor of modern rap style.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
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
Somewhere in Africa there is a city, town, or village where Henry Fordham’s progenitors lived and died for hundreds or thousands of years, where my distant relatives walk the streets today.
—Eugene Robinson, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
More interesting is how Rocky feels he’s been underrated as a progenitor of modern rap style.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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In the first story, a couple worry about how a possible family curse that began when an ancestor made a bargain to escape enslavement might affect their happy life.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
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So when a park ranger spotted one while monitoring streams in a remote forest in September 2025, the discovery thrilled scientists and wildlife enthusiasts alike — and offered rare data about an endangered species whose ancestors lived alongside dinosaurs.—
Samantha Agate,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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His grandfather’s war medals and flag are gone, too.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
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Abbott said that Kazan’s version — an adaptation of a book that her grandfather Elia Kazan mounted in 1955 — is told through that character’s eyes.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Some had Robert Carlson's signature, but many appeared to be signed by his father.—
Carol Thompson,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
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Set in the last year of World War II on the remote North Sea island of Amrum, the story is told from the point of view of 12-year-old Nanning (Jasper Billerbeck), whose zealot mother (Laura Tonke) is raising him as a good Nazi while his father fights in the war.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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