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
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
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
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
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
Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 17 Apr. 2023
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
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
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
-
Norman Wong, a descendant of Wong Kim Ark, poses for a portrait in front of a mural of his late ancestor, in San Francisco.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The Northern Cheyenne chief Little Wolf exemplified this resolve in the 1860s and ’70s, leading his people in many different battles to defend the North Country of his ancestors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And while the circumstances of his birth may have been historic, Phillips’ education was traditional for the family, following in the footsteps of his uncle Charles and grandfather, Prince Philip, and cutting his teeth at Gordonstoun School in Scotland.—
Stephanie Bridger-Linning,
Vanity Fair,
2 Apr. 2026
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But Koehnemann also learned from his grandfather Ryne Sandberg, a Chicago Cubs legend and 2005 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee who died in Lake Bluff on July 28, 2025.—
Steve Reaven,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Mohamad Faisal, one of Shah Alam's children, previously told Reuters that his father's arrest about a year ago was due to a misunderstanding with police officers.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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Her father was seated on a chair with one foot tucked under him, and her mother was sitting on the sofa with both feet curled under her.—
Jacobina Martin,
Washington Post,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearer. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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