as in ancestors
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 progenitors
Its story of five girls — all navigating preteenagerdom under the stewardship of their tragically well-meaning white dads — stands firmly on its own legs, even staring down some of its progenitors.
—
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 May 2026
To get to the bottom of things, though, the team behind the new research examined the host galaxies and environments of LFBOTs to try to pin down what the progenitors of these explosive events could really be.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 May 2026
In a scene following the triumph of successfully creating a human blastocyst outside the womb, IVF’s three progenitors face the Medical Research Council.
—Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 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
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
Though some futuristic progenitors didn’t make the original project (there’s still time for a deluxe), many listeners are celebrating the project as a cross-generational mesh of Atlanta greatness.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 May 2026
To get to the bottom of things, though, the team behind the new research examined the host galaxies and environments of LFBOTs to try to pin down what the progenitors of these explosive events could really be.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 May 2026
In a scene following the triumph of successfully creating a human blastocyst outside the womb, IVF’s three progenitors face the Medical Research Council.
—Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 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
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
Though some futuristic progenitors didn’t make the original project (there’s still time for a deluxe), many listeners are celebrating the project as a cross-generational mesh of Atlanta greatness.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitors
Noun
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Velociraptors and microraptors were not birds, but they were closely related to ancestors of the earliest birds, such as Archaeopteryx.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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The behavior may be inherited from wild ancestors Why dogs like grass in the first place is harder to answer.—
Niranjana Rajalakshmi,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Opponents hope to negotiate a compromise that grandfathers in existing applicants.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
31 May 2026
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Homer is named after both of his grandfathers—Homer Gere and James Lowell—while his third name comes from Gere’s Buddhist background.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
27 May 2026
Noun
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And yet, the complex plot comes down to the bond between Albus and Scorpius, who are living in their fathers’ shadows, bullied and uncertain of themselves, as their connections with their dads falter.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
4 June 2026
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While some riders prioritize adventure, many fathers simply want a reliable and comfortable way to travel around town.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Progenitors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitors. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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