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
There is an academy outside Santo Domingo named after Felipe Alou, the pioneering progenitor of the first family of Dominican baseball.
—
Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents, and Duwaji in Texas to Syrian Muslim progenitors.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 Jan. 2026
Skye and Billy’s progenitors, by contrast, are revealed to have been free-spirited and independent-minded people who simply left out lots of their complicated, peripatetic story.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
This is probably telling us that, like 2I/Borisov, 3I/ATLAS formed much farther out in its progenitor star system than our solar system comets did.
—Darryl Seligman, Space.com, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents, and Duwaji in Texas to Syrian Muslim progenitors.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 Jan. 2026
Skye and Billy’s progenitors, by contrast, are revealed to have been free-spirited and independent-minded people who simply left out lots of their complicated, peripatetic story.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
This is probably telling us that, like 2I/Borisov, 3I/ATLAS formed much farther out in its progenitor star system than our solar system comets did.
—Darryl Seligman, Space.com, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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But now, a series of tea parties with an ape named Kanzi suggests some of our closest ancestors may have this ability too.—
Suzanne Nuyen,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2026
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The findings also suggest that herbivory evolved independently in several different groups of early land vertebrates, not just in the ancestors of modern reptiles.—
Lily Hautau,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The company, Christian Brothers Hockey Sticks, was founded by his grandfather and great-uncle, 1960 Olympic hockey stars Bill and Roger Christian.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
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Kocher was a grandfather and a sucker for extra hours on the bike trails, Beckley said.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Their accounts gave me shivers of recognition—their experiences echoed my father’s stories.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
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The two become inseparable, to the dismay of Cathy’s paid companion Nelly (Vi Nguyen), and only become closer after Heathcliff takes a beating on Cathy’s behalf from her alcoholic father (Martin Clunes) for missing his birthday celebration.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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