1
as in grandfathers
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
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2
as in forerunners
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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Recent Examples of ancestors
For the mother of one, the piano, with the faces of their ancestors carved into it, is their family legacy.
—
Ronda Racha Penrice, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2024
These tasks resonate with our human essence, inherited from our ancestors, offering fulfillment that goes beyond economic value and speaks to our need for hands-on, purposeful engagement in the world.
—Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Unless all of one’s ancestors are Inuit, Hawaiian or Native American — the inhabitants of the states before colonization — then all of us are descended from immigrants.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2024
This finding raises new questions around our hunter-gatherer ancestors’ diet and lifestyle.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
The study found evidence that as far back as 800,000 years ago, our human ancestors began to to carry multiple copies of the gene.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 17 Oct. 2024
Ball had located descendents of people his ancestors had enslaved — including Harold Singletary.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 17 Oct. 2024
The people would create saints out of their ancestors and venerate them under the disguise of religion.
—Damien Scott, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2024
Ants created their own gardens during a time when our own ancestors were still scrambling through the trees in search of fruit.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Oct. 2024
Ronda Racha Penrice, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2024
These tasks resonate with our human essence, inherited from our ancestors, offering fulfillment that goes beyond economic value and speaks to our need for hands-on, purposeful engagement in the world.
—Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Unless all of one’s ancestors are Inuit, Hawaiian or Native American — the inhabitants of the states before colonization — then all of us are descended from immigrants.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2024
This finding raises new questions around our hunter-gatherer ancestors’ diet and lifestyle.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
The study found evidence that as far back as 800,000 years ago, our human ancestors began to to carry multiple copies of the gene.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 17 Oct. 2024
Ball had located descendents of people his ancestors had enslaved — including Harold Singletary.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 17 Oct. 2024
The people would create saints out of their ancestors and venerate them under the disguise of religion.
—Damien Scott, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2024
Ants created their own gardens during a time when our own ancestors were still scrambling through the trees in search of fruit.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near ancestors
Cite this Entry
“Ancestors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestors. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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