ANCESTRESS Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

ancestress

noun

Definition of ancestress

as in grandmother

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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 ancestress Yang Asha is the mythical ancestress of the Miao people, an ethnic minority in China closely related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia. — Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2020 His own mother, aged ninety, who remembered her aunt, had been able to share stories of their ancestress with the grandchildren who’d had no idea, before now, what their background might be. — Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020 Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan’s emperors. — Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019 Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan's emperors. — NBC News, 22 Oct. 2019 Instead of being a reticulated mesh the genealogy of mtDNA is a clean and inverted elegant tree leading back to a common ancestress. — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2010

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestress

Noun

Gertrude Aronow, the grandmother of the restaurateur Nate Adler, was, by Adler’s account, an eccentric woman of uncommon charisma, the sort of person who made any room feel like a party.

— Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
But what her father left out of his memoir and Duong captured in her film was the untold torment of Ba leaving his mother, Nguyen Thị Bay, or grandmother Ba Noi, and close relatives behind in their ancestral village in Vietnam.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of grandmother

Noun

Some at the memorial took solace in seeing so many like-minded devotees come out to the serene mountain setting to remember the avian matriarch.

— Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
McGuane extends care to the ignored and the abhorrent—Peggy, the matriarch, fails at protecting her daughter not once but twice, with lifelong consequences the family all but ignores.

— Ryan Chapman, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of matriarch

Noun

The discovery led to a complete redesign of the project, shifting the hotel inland to preserve the sacred site and honor the ancestors who remain there.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
The small, troubled Trask family represents isolation, generational trauma and dysfunctional cycles in contrast to the large, loving and morally grounded Hamilton family, who are modeled after Steinbeck’s own maternal ancestors.

— Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of ancestor

Noun

Featuring cantilevered balconies and roofs, Wright later described the home as a progenitor to Fallingwater.

— Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2026
One of those daughters was the magical Maria, progenitor of Sally, Gillian, Kylie, and Antonia’s bloodline.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of progenitor

Noun

Through our hair and its many rituals, remain the herbalism of our foremothers in the new world, passing down their ingenuity of homemade balms, creams, and oils for hair growth.

— Eshe Ukweli, refinery29.com, 7 June 2023
In fact, precursors to modern bleaching processes didn’t come on the scene until the turn of the 20th century, leaving our foremothers and forefathers plenty of time to get creative with their blonde pursuits.

— AJ Willingham, CNN, 28 May 2023

Definition of foremother

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

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Synonyms of ancestress

noun

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