forebears

noun

variants also forbears
plural of forebear
as in ancestors
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent his forebears came to America on the Mayflower

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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 forebears Their forebears at the Academy snubbed canonical documentaries like The Thin Blue Line, Roger & Me, and Hoop Dreams. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 First our forebears began to imitate peers learned behaviors, creating group norms that supported coordinated work. — Michael Morris, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026 Plant paid special attention to forebears and contemporaries. — Chris Willman, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026 Some of his forebears emigrated before the genocide; others barely got out. — Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 19 July 2026 Over the years, a number of prominent mathematicians tried to prove this guess of their forebears. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 14 July 2026 Their trajectories have diverged and sometimes overlapped in the 125 years since their forebears moved through the same dusty streets on one November day. — CBS News, 12 July 2026 For anyone wanting to see or experience the sites and vestiges of Miami’s ancient inhabitants, the people known as Tequesta and their even more enigmatic Archaic forebears, there are only a few places to go. — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026 For 17 generations, Wietse Van Der Werf’s forebears toiled as dockworkers, shipbuilders, and sea captains in the Netherlands and its colonies. — Richard Morgan, Time, 29 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forebears
  1. ancestors
  2. grandfathers
  3. fathers
Noun
  • The changes would have affected the environments in which life developed and evolved, from the age of the dinosaurs through to some of our oldest primate ancestors.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • In his view, Flagg Mountain’s fire-scarred stumps corroborate what his community already knew—that their ancestors used fire for centuries—and reinforce their sense of responsibility to care for the land.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of ancestors
Noun
  • His grandfathers are former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and Tom Curtis, an All-America defensive back for the Wolverines, and his brother is Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Nearly a century after his great-grandfathers played college football, USC freshman defensive lineman Luke Wafle is emerging as a generational talent.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of grandfathers
Noun
  • Those girls in the hothouses maintained by fathers and uncles certainly would not spare a single thought for Percherette.
    — Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Nearly every player on the team is a dad, with seemingly a few players becoming first-time fathers each of the past few seasons.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of fathers

Browse Nearby Words

forebearers
forebears
forebode
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Cite this Entry

“Forebears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forebears. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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