as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
villagers who still practice many of the customs of their forebearers
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Recent Examples of forebearer
Like its classic-rock forebearer Desert Trip, the concert will bring two acts per night to Indio’s Empire Polo Club, on the weekend of Oct. 6-8.
—
August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2023
After leaving Alabama, Avinger served a year in the U.S. Army, then signed for a season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union, one of the forebearers of the Canadian Football League.
—Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 17 Apr. 2023
Mike Brown said the digital driver license is the forebearer of discriminating against the unvaccinated.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Feb. 2022
If successful, The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, named in honor of its famous nautical forebearer and known as MAS for short, will be the first such trans-Atlantic voyage by an autonomous vessel.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2021
Quaker Oats retired Aunt Jemima, allowing her real-life forebearer, Nancy Green, to step out of the shadows of a minstrel past.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2020
Chickamauga is two lakes upstream from Guntersville and other TVA lakes in Alabama, which likely means the fish or their forebearers passed through Alabama waters and that lots of them could still be there.
—Frank Sargeant, al, 22 Jan. 2020
Our generation inherited a healthy ocean from our forebearers.
—CNN, 24 Sep. 2019
Many of our forebearers, including my great-grandfather, were undocumented immigrants, no different from Central American migrants today.
—Aaron Freedman, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2019
August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2023
After leaving Alabama, Avinger served a year in the U.S. Army, then signed for a season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union, one of the forebearers of the Canadian Football League.
—Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 17 Apr. 2023
Mike Brown said the digital driver license is the forebearer of discriminating against the unvaccinated.
—Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Feb. 2022
If successful, The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, named in honor of its famous nautical forebearer and known as MAS for short, will be the first such trans-Atlantic voyage by an autonomous vessel.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2021
Quaker Oats retired Aunt Jemima, allowing her real-life forebearer, Nancy Green, to step out of the shadows of a minstrel past.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2020
Chickamauga is two lakes upstream from Guntersville and other TVA lakes in Alabama, which likely means the fish or their forebearers passed through Alabama waters and that lots of them could still be there.
—Frank Sargeant, al, 22 Jan. 2020
Our generation inherited a healthy ocean from our forebearers.
—CNN, 24 Sep. 2019
Many of our forebearers, including my great-grandfather, were undocumented immigrants, no different from Central American migrants today.
—Aaron Freedman, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebearer
Noun
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No offense to landscapes and wildlife painting and portraits of ancestors–Burgess does all of that, too–but here was something different, provocative.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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Though the efforts of our ancestors were often met with devastating backlash, the truth remains: this is the blueprint.—
Essence,
Essence,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The fiddle resting on his shoulder belonged to his great, great grandfather and dates to around 1900.—
Frank Langfitt,
NPR,
16 Aug. 2025
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Photos from Kaela Leone's TikTok video of her sister and grandfather meeting for her wedding.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Afraid of Sarah’s father discovering the truth, Sitti and Janna push themselves to the limit, determined to uncover why Sarah vanished.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
25 Aug. 2025
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Sanders transferred to Colorado once his father took over as the head coach of the Buffaloes.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearer. Accessed 31 Aug. 2025.
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