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
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
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The auntie’s going to always be there for her niece as an ancestor.—
Fox Maxy,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2025
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The ephemerides were the ancestors of astronomical tables, which still exist.—
James Byrne,
The Conversation,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This recipe is familiar yet revolutionary at the same time, just like your grandfather's stories.—
Mary Alice Russell,
Southern Living,
14 Mar. 2025
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Pulte, whose grandfather founded the nation’s third-largest homebuilder, PulteGroup, said that privatizing the two companies is not the Trump administration’s top priority this time around.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
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His father, Dave, served as a Virginia assistant in the 1980s.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
22 Mar. 2025
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Iceland’s public broadcaster reported that the relationship was kept secret but that the father was present for the birth of his child and initially allowed contact, but nearly all access was cut off before his son turned 1.—
Caitlin Danaher,
CNN,
22 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to forebearer
Cite this Entry
“Forebearer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebearer. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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