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
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
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai made the breakthrough after first developing a technique to isolate progenitor cells from the heart.
—New Atlas, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
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
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai made the breakthrough after first developing a technique to isolate progenitor cells from the heart.
—New Atlas, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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Some of those ancestors left Africa to explore Europe.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
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Gibson is passionate about introducing fans to underrepresented voices and tipping her cap to the mothers, grandmothers, and other ancestors who inspired us all along the way.—
Karla Walsh,
Southern Living,
29 Jan. 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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Holly didn't have access to the safe except for brief times when it was opened by his father, according to the lawyer.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
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These abuses include the murder of inmates’ infants, a fact that galvanizes the pregnant Alouette (the father of her child, Étienne, is a quarryman) into joining a plan for escape through the Paris sewers.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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