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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Recent Examples of progenitor
Across much of eastern North America, from Tennessee through Nova Scotia, skunk cabbage emerges before the vernal equinox in mid-March, pushing out of the snow and frozen mud like some primordial progenitor of the warmer weather to come.
—
Skylar Knight, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2025
When fish suffer retinal damage, the Müller glia cells differentiate into retinal progenitor cells, which generate new neurons and help the fish keep their vision functioning properly.
—Michael Franco, New Atlas, 11 June 2025
Sly Stone, funk-rock progenitor and leader of the Family Stone, has died at 82.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025
Matsumoto went on to develop another SNK stalwart in Art of Fighting, while Nishiyama was put in charge of the progenitor series.
—Jason Fanelli, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Skylar Knight, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2025
When fish suffer retinal damage, the Müller glia cells differentiate into retinal progenitor cells, which generate new neurons and help the fish keep their vision functioning properly.
—Michael Franco, New Atlas, 11 June 2025
Sly Stone, funk-rock progenitor and leader of the Family Stone, has died at 82.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025
Matsumoto went on to develop another SNK stalwart in Art of Fighting, while Nishiyama was put in charge of the progenitor series.
—Jason Fanelli, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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Such cooperative behavior to defend from predators like raptors may have first evolved in our ancestors.—
Joshua Rapp Learn,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 July 2025
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The fifth-generation Southerner said removing the monument would be a betrayal to the memory of his ancestors and other soldiers.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
13 July 2025
Noun
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This is all thanks to Jane Blaffer Owen an oil heiress from Houston (her father was one of the founders of a company that’s now ExxonMobil and her grandfather established the company that ultimately became Texaco), whose husband, Kenneth Dale Owen was a descendent of New Harmony’s founders.—
Rima Suqi,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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Just across the river from Wilmington, on the other side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the Scott’s Auto repair shop founded by his grandfather has been a mainstay in Carneys Point, N.J., since 1978.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
Noun
-
My father never got to speak for himself because his health robbed him of that chance.—
Rance Collins,
IndieWire,
20 July 2025
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Over the two decades that Al-Waleed was in a coma, his father opted to keep him on life support and often shared social media footage of himself and other family members praying for his son's recovery.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
20 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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