1
as in pioneers
the innovators of new concepts, styles, and techniques especially in the arts
a style of jazz that the vanguard quickly recognized as new and exciting
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in forefronts
the leading or most important part of a movement
talk radio is often regarded as being in the vanguard of the conservative movement
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vanguards
The San Francisco 49ers, vanguards of the outside zone run game, cannot run the ball.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
He’s so far collaborated with acts like Ecco2k and Xaviersobased, themselves vanguards of the underground-rap scene.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
He’s so far collaborated with acts like Ecco2k and Xaviersobased, themselves vanguards of the underground-rap scene.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vanguards
pioneers
Noun
-
Newcomers began to arrive almost immediately, with the growth driven by the forty-niners ‒ the gold-seeking pioneers who began flocking west in 1849.—
Andre Byik,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
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Soundgarden Soundgarden are widely considered one of the great pioneers of grunge.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vanguards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vanguards. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
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