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
This version of the Democratic Party, which featured the progenitor of wokeism, Obama himself, as the leading presidential campaign trail surrogate for Harris, was thoroughly rejected in November by the American people.
—
Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
By calculating the positions of nearby stellar clusters through time, the researchers identified two main suspects that could have housed the supernova progenitor.
—Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
The two Metroidvania progenitors — 1986’s Metroid and 1987’s Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest — cultivated a sense of geographical bewilderment by letting players unfurl the secrets of their arcane worlds in any direction along the X and Y axes.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
That series’ progenitor, Twin Peaks (1990-92) — also co-written with Frost — was the first network series to be organized around one character’s death and a community’s response to it.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
By calculating the positions of nearby stellar clusters through time, the researchers identified two main suspects that could have housed the supernova progenitor.
—Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
The two Metroidvania progenitors — 1986’s Metroid and 1987’s Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest — cultivated a sense of geographical bewilderment by letting players unfurl the secrets of their arcane worlds in any direction along the X and Y axes.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
That series’ progenitor, Twin Peaks (1990-92) — also co-written with Frost — was the first network series to be organized around one character’s death and a community’s response to it.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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Like all Guna, Lisa’s ancestors were not native island dwellers.—
Mark Johanson,
AFAR Media,
22 Apr. 2025
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Water bottle The modern-day source of water for many people—their water bottle—may be just as germ-filled as our ancient ancestors’ go-to watering hole.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Given his grandfather’s negative views on homosexuality, Min has not yet discussed being gay with his grandmother.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
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Her family is from the Bahamas, and Bowe's 92-year-old grandfather traveled to Texas to watch her launch to space.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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At the time of their father’s death, Colton and McKenna were just 8 and 6 years old, respectively.—
Alex Gurley,
People.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Wisconsin woman sells home, travels full-time after personal loss Ashley Kay sold her home, bought a truck and embarked on an adventure across North and South America following her father's unexpected death.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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