PROGENITOR Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

progenitor

noun

prō-ˈje-nə-tər

Definition of progenitor

as in ancestor

a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent the progenitors of today's Maya once ruled a mighty empire that stretched across much of Central America

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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 progenitor Art Bar, Riverwest This list wouldn't be complete without the progenitor of the genre in Milwaukee. — Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Yet that same year, Brynjolfsson got access to GPT-3, a progenitor of ChatGPT. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026 The ultimate sports podcast The progenitor to the growth of sports podcasts has to be Only A Game. — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 15 June 2026 In her account, Richmond indeed emerges as its progenitor—through his theorizing, his behind-the-scenes parliamentary and polemical maneuvering, and his patronage of Thomas Paine. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for progenitor

Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor

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 ancestor

Noun

Shiloh is now walking through the halls where her grandfather was a teacher, her aunt was a counselor and four of her five siblings went to school.

— Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
His grandfather was English, and much of the shoot involved being at a different moor or castle with wild horses galloping around every other week, Nordrum says.

— Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of grandfather

Noun

The trip marks the first visit by a Spanish monarch to the two cities since Felipe's father, Juan Carlos I, toured them in 2007.

— JOSEPH WILSON, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
For Rukhsar Amrohi, who also calls Kumari Chhoti Ammi, the film is a token of the couple’s love, made by her father out of his love for Kumari.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of father

Browse Nearby Words

profusions

progenitor

progenitors

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

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Synonyms of progenitor

noun

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