progenitors

noun

plural of progenitor
as in ancestors
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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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 progenitors Watching their metronomic thriller does more to suggest the arrival of a hyper-sexualized answer to the Coen brothers than the progeny of William Gibson or the progenitors of multiplex psychedelia. — Nick Newman, IndieWire, 1 June 2026 Its story of five girls — all navigating preteenagerdom under the stewardship of their tragically well-meaning white dads — stands firmly on its own legs, even staring down some of its progenitors. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 May 2026 To get to the bottom of things, though, the team behind the new research examined the host galaxies and environments of LFBOTs to try to pin down what the progenitors of these explosive events could really be. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 May 2026 In a scene following the triumph of successfully creating a human blastocyst outside the womb, IVF’s three progenitors face the Medical Research Council. — Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026 The key to calculating the amount of energy blasted out is realizing that the mass of a merger’s resulting black hole is not simply the sum of its progenitors. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2026 Somewhere in Africa there is a city, town, or village where Henry Fordham’s progenitors lived and died for hundreds or thousands of years, where my distant relatives walk the streets today. — Eugene Robinson, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026 Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents, and Duwaji in Texas to Syrian Muslim progenitors. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 Jan. 2026 Skye and Billy’s progenitors, by contrast, are revealed to have been free-spirited and independent-minded people who simply left out lots of their complicated, peripatetic story. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitors
  1. ancestors
  2. grandfathers
  3. fathers
Noun
  • With a sensibility that reminds me of Barbara Cooney’s art and text, Rebecca tells a story inspired by the lives of Beaton’s ancestors.
    — Caroline Carlson, Literary Hub, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Its rise also marks the beginning of the Hindu celebration of Pitru Paksha, during which worshippers perform rites to honor ancestors by offering prayers and food to past members of their families.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of ancestors
Noun
  • Born in Russell County, Virginia, Hubbard was largely raised by his grandfathers, both union coal miners with missing fingers, and still speaks with an Appalachian twang.
    — Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Sorrell, whose grandfathers both played in the majors, slugged 23 home runs and 20 doubles in 56 games while drawing 33 walks and striking out 61 times.
    — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
Definition of grandfathers
Noun
  • How Joe Biden, like most fathers, wanted the best for his son, and how addicts tend to lie to their parents to protect their addiction.
    — David Manheim, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The plan also expands efforts to help fathers spend more time parenting.
    — Brian Mann, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of fathers

Browse Nearby Words

progenitor
progenitors
progeny
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Cite this Entry

“Progenitors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitors. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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