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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of progenitors
Astronomers have long puzzled over the apparent lack of luminous red supergiant stars in pre-explosion images, even though models predict that these stars should dominate the population of core-collapse supernova progenitors.
—
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 8 Oct. 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
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 8 Oct. 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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The same knowing that my ancestors must have held, that beauty and resilience are not separate things.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
22 Oct. 2025
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Ludwig’s distant paternal ancestors were in fact German Jewish merchants, not warlike princes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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One of her grandfathers, Tony Soetaert, was one of Shawnee’s longest-serving mayors.—
PJ Green
October 20,
Kansas City Star,
20 Oct. 2025
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Both of his grandfathers died in mine accidents.—
The Conversation,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The new season, which marks the first under iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network, will go beyond the original premise of interviewing famous fathers.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
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What YouTube and these social platforms have done is allow people to create entire media groups speaking to very particular communities—to South Asian women or, say, gay fathers over forty.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Progenitors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitors. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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