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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
Growing population size would have affected our forebearers another way, too: by accelerating the pace of evolution.
—Rachel Caspari, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2012
Based on the analysis the team built a virtual model of what this land-dwelling forebearer to flying insects looked like.
—Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 15 Jan. 2019
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
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
Growing population size would have affected our forebearers another way, too: by accelerating the pace of evolution.
—Rachel Caspari, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2012
Based on the analysis the team built a virtual model of what this land-dwelling forebearer to flying insects looked like.
—Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 15 Jan. 2019
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebearer
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
Noun
-
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
-
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
Articles Related to forebearer
Cite this Entry
“Forebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearer. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share