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
This version of the Democratic Party, which featured the progenitor of wokeism, Obama himself, as the leading presidential campaign trail surrogate for Harris, was thoroughly rejected in November by the American people.
—
Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
By calculating the positions of nearby stellar clusters through time, the researchers identified two main suspects that could have housed the supernova progenitor.
—Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
The two Metroidvania progenitors — 1986’s Metroid and 1987’s Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest — cultivated a sense of geographical bewilderment by letting players unfurl the secrets of their arcane worlds in any direction along the X and Y axes.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
That series’ progenitor, Twin Peaks (1990-92) — also co-written with Frost — was the first network series to be organized around one character’s death and a community’s response to it.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
By calculating the positions of nearby stellar clusters through time, the researchers identified two main suspects that could have housed the supernova progenitor.
—Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
The two Metroidvania progenitors — 1986’s Metroid and 1987’s Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest — cultivated a sense of geographical bewilderment by letting players unfurl the secrets of their arcane worlds in any direction along the X and Y axes.
—Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
That series’ progenitor, Twin Peaks (1990-92) — also co-written with Frost — was the first network series to be organized around one character’s death and a community’s response to it.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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During the Pleistocene, our ancestors lived through several different ice ages.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
9 Apr. 2025
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Until recently, the ancestors of insects were thought to be more millipede-like and evolved once invertebrates began to live on land.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Given his grandfather’s negative views on homosexuality, Min has not yet discussed being gay with his grandmother.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
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Steve Polidori joined his grandfather at the family’s meat-processing facility while studying at Colorado State University in the early ’90s and stayed on after graduation.—
Miguel Otárola,
Denver Post,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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It is understood that father and son didn’t meet before Charles and Camilla headed to Italy.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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In 1913, his father acquired the famed Indore Pear diamonds from Chaumet, marking the beginning of a long-standing relationship with the historic Parisian Maison, Christie’s said.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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