ANCESTOR Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

ancestor

noun

ˈan-ˌse-stər

Definition of ancestor

as in grandfather

a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent Bridie's Irish ancestors immigrated to the United States in the 19th century during the Great Potato Famine

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in forerunner

something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed pinball machines—the ancestors of today's video games—go back to the 19th century

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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 ancestor John Spencer, at the time heir to the Spencer earldom and styled as Viscount Althorp, was two years older than Queen Elizabeth II and descended from a long line of ancestors who served the British crown. — Diego Parrado, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026 The same year, on Boston Common, some fifty of our ancestors were executed and displayed in rituals of violence. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026 Refusing to believe that the ancestors of Native Americans could have built such monumental structures, writers floated bizarre theories as to who had. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 If an ibis ancestor couldn’t fly, a modern Muppet bird creature is not hard to imagine. — Niranjana Rajalakshmi, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ancestor

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestor

Noun

Alongside his mother, Paola Moscatelli, who serves as chief executive officer, Vicentini came to work for his grandfather right before COVID-19 after a career as an architect at OXO Architects in Paris.

— Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
Blending comedy, family drama and supernatural elements, the film revolves around the relationship between a Gen Z grandson and his war-veteran grandfather.

— Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of grandfather

Noun

Dubbed the ‘American Turtle’ for its appearance, the submarine made three attempts to blow up British ships without success, but is considered the forerunner of modern submarines.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

Definition of forerunner

Noun

Ellison clinched the deal by sweetening the offer price and bringing his father, Larry Ellison, in to personally guarantee funding.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
Gyllenhaal’s father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a director and her mother, Naomi Foner, a screenwriter.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of father

Noun

Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days (also known as October Prime Day) is here, serving as a precursor to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

— Cameron Faulkner, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026
Ng, who is Jo Henderson’s oncologist, noted that her previous research found that women who ate more ultraprocessed foods had a higher risk of colon polyps that can be precursors to cancer.

— Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of precursor

Noun

Much of coaching football is taking ideas from your predecessors and adopting them as your own with a personal twist.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Williams and James entered the season under a lot of scrutiny given the impact their predecessors, Love and Jadarian Price, made last season on the Notre Dame offense.

— Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of predecessor

Noun

As of now, On does not sell soccer boots, although Mbappé has already teased a prototype in matches.

— Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
Leaders should look beyond benchtop prototypes to assess manufacturing capacity, component-level supply-chain resilience, production lead times and the ability to repair or replace systems in the field.

— Rohit Jha, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of prototype

Browse Nearby Words

anatomy

ancestor

ancestors

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Style

“Ancestor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestor. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ancestor

noun

Example Sentences

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