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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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 progenitor
Its progenitor started off in the timber trade around the turn of the 20th century, according to a company profile.
—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 May 2025
New York is usually considered the antithesis of sprawl and Los Angeles the progenitor of it.
—Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, most Cretaceous avian progenitors appear more birdlike, with short tails ending in a compound bone called a pygostyle.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025
The company isolated expandable endothelial progenitor cells from the blood of red wolves to make their clones.
—Emily Mullin, Wired News, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 May 2025
New York is usually considered the antithesis of sprawl and Los Angeles the progenitor of it.
—Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, most Cretaceous avian progenitors appear more birdlike, with short tails ending in a compound bone called a pygostyle.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025
The company isolated expandable endothelial progenitor cells from the blood of red wolves to make their clones.
—Emily Mullin, Wired News, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
-
As Charles Handy explained in The Age of Paradox, modern life forces us to navigate complexities our ancestors never faced, such as the tension between efficiency and humanity or between individual freedom and collective responsibility.—
Shane Enete,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
-
Throughout the middle passage, it has been said that our ancestors wove familiar items such as beads, shells, or even seeds and grains from home into their braids, to keep with them along their journeys.—
Essence,
Essence,
19 June 2025
Noun
-
His first experiences of racing came from watching the Tour de France with his grandfather.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
-
Built in 1939 by Gamboa’s grandfather, the mansion marries Art Deco style with bahay kubo architecture, a traditional Filipino house on stilts.—
Jeff Chu,
Travel + Leisure,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
In the future, Lisa serves as commissioner of the NBA, and Bart runs a retirement home where their widowed father Homer resides.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
26 June 2025
-
But in her 20s, Mariska became aware, independently, that her biological father was an Italian nightclub entertainer named Nelson Sardelli.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share