variants
also forbear
as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
his forebears came to America on the Mayflower
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forebear
From horses to housewares Santos remembers riding horses up to his family home; for generations, this was a ranch belonging to his forebears.
—
David Culver, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
Yet, in a land whose ancient Greek forebears coined the notion of hubris as a potent ingredient of tragedy, both developments contributed to a crippling debt crisis that raised questions about Greek membership in the European Union and ballooned into a broader crisis across the eurozone.
—Alan Cowell, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
An exciting crop of younger players are impatient to usurp their forebears, the American men are looking to take the next step and if the ATP Next Gen Finals is anything to go by, an 18-year-old from Rio de Janeiro called Joao Fonseca is going to be a problem very soon.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
Foreign and domestic businesses and crypto capitalists will rewire the infrastructure of the world economy to make more money, just as their forebears did in the early days of the U.S. empire, when the state was underdeveloped.
—Henry Farrell, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for forebear
David Culver, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
Yet, in a land whose ancient Greek forebears coined the notion of hubris as a potent ingredient of tragedy, both developments contributed to a crippling debt crisis that raised questions about Greek membership in the European Union and ballooned into a broader crisis across the eurozone.
—Alan Cowell, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
An exciting crop of younger players are impatient to usurp their forebears, the American men are looking to take the next step and if the ATP Next Gen Finals is anything to go by, an 18-year-old from Rio de Janeiro called Joao Fonseca is going to be a problem very soon.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
Foreign and domestic businesses and crypto capitalists will rewire the infrastructure of the world economy to make more money, just as their forebears did in the early days of the U.S. empire, when the state was underdeveloped.
—Henry Farrell, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for forebear
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebear
Noun
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Then the fire last month destroyed nearly everything inside the house: the handwritten letters from Ms. Edmiston’s father, who was once the mayor of Beverly Hills; a tin menorah that her ancestors brought from Russia and Poland; and, of course, nearly all the cookie jars.—
Corina Knoll,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2025
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Because of this, many scientists believed that early and classic Neanderthals had a lower genetic diversity than their pre-Neanderthal ancestors.—
Discover Magazine,
Discover Magazine,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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At least four of the detainees whose families spoke with the Herald are fathers to children 5 years old or younger.—
Claire Healy,
Miami Herald,
26 Feb. 2025
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Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the father of the two redheaded boys, was abducted separately during the attack, which set off Israel’s 15-month war in Gaza that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and left much of the enclave in ruins.—
Isabel Kershner,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Journalism is part of my heritage: My great great grandfather was a Civil War correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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Brown, whose father and grandfather were both combat veterans, has held multiple combat commands and logged 130 combat hours as a fighter pilot.—
Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards,
Orlando Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebear. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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