1
as in precursors
one that announces or indicates the later arrival of another
the return of the swallows is traditionally regarded as a forerunner of spring
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in ancestors
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
enjoyed the demonstration of the simple hand loom that was the forerunner of today's computer-controlled looms
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forerunners
Even the Hammurabi Code, a set of laws created by the sixth Babylonian king in approximately 1760 bce, established forerunners of today’s interest rate and minimum wage laws.
—
Chris Roush, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
These were the forerunners of today’s robots.
—Munis Raza, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
And these projects may just be the forerunners.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
With little support for the WHO among Republicans — who control both the House and the Senate — there has been no push from Congress to hold the country to the provision set out by their forerunners.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 21 Jan. 2026
Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The primacy of a central meeting space can be traced to the Greek Empire with the agora, among other forerunners.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Chris Roush, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
These were the forerunners of today’s robots.
—Munis Raza, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
And these projects may just be the forerunners.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
With little support for the WHO among Republicans — who control both the House and the Senate — there has been no push from Congress to hold the country to the provision set out by their forerunners.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 21 Jan. 2026
Like these forerunners, the pleasures of Knight’s A Thousand Blows, which premiered all six episodes of its second season on Hulu Friday, lies in looking back on that thin sliver of time, about 15 years ago, when anachronistic old-timey crime was in vogue.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
The primacy of a central meeting space can be traced to the Greek Empire with the agora, among other forerunners.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forerunners
Noun
-
So does a significant share of the fertilizer precursors and agricultural imports that Gulf states rely on to feed their populations.—
Tenzin Seldon,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The rise coincides with a recent crackdown by the Chinese government on the sale of precursors used to make fentanyl.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
All of us are here because, over millennia of acts of God and wars and disease, our ancestors trusted the hours.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Regardless of whether plans are rejigged, there will be plenty of pomp and circumstance for Charles, 77, as befitting a state visit of a British king to a country that his ancestors once ruled.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In recent years, there have also been reports of vandalism and attacks on robotaxis and delivery robots, which some see as harbingers of a high-tech future not everyone asked for.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
17 Apr. 2026
-
If nothing else, Kidman should rally the rest of her Big Little Lies castmates as a roving band of blonde soothsayers and harbingers of eternal sleep.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The namesake cerdito, or piglet, represents his parents and their predecessors, who were farmers and ranchers in Jalisco on the Pacific side of Mexico.—
Louisa Kung Liu Chu,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In its approach to listening, World Rhythms marks a subtle but important break with its predecessors.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
After years of competing for quarters in the arcades, two of the heralds of the video game age are working in tandem.—
Devin Robertson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The movie heralds from FilmNation Entertainment’s production label Infrared, Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, and Assemble Media.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
That night, our CEO gets another shot on goal with a new gaggle of angels in New York.—
Neil Senturia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The yarns of Joe Turner interweave gradually, everyday chit-chat, bargaining, and flirtation interlocking over time with threads of mysticism — both the ghosts of a brutal history and the ancestral spirits that stand protective and defiant like a phalanx of angels with shining swords.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
His deputies and outriders are not quite so deft.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
21 Sep. 2025
-
Churchill Downs outriders, jockey agents, jockeys Florent Geroux and Julian Leperoux, as well as members of Lukas' barn staff also sat in the crowd.—
Stephanie Kuzydym,
Louisville Courier Journal,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
With most dogs showing signs of dental disease by age three, simple, low-effort solutions are gaining traction among pet owners looking for consistency without adding complexity.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Sources with knowledge of the case previously told Fox News Digital there were no signs of a struggle inside.—
Michael Ruiz , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forerunners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forerunners. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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