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
Beane is the progenitor of the Moneyball movement, the search for inefficiency in roster building that, today, has influenced every Major League Baseball front office.
—
Evan Drellich, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Advertisement With Revere their progenitor, mounted messengers would over the next hours course across Middlesex County and into Essex County and Norfolk County, into the counties of Bristol and Worcester.
—Kostya Kennedy, Time, 16 Feb. 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
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Evan Drellich, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Advertisement With Revere their progenitor, mounted messengers would over the next hours course across Middlesex County and into Essex County and Norfolk County, into the counties of Bristol and Worcester.
—Kostya Kennedy, Time, 16 Feb. 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
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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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
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By shedding heavy shells like those seen in early nautiloids and ammonites, the ancestors of modern octopuses traded passive defense for active offense.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The two had been arguing just a few hours earlier over Sweeney’s reluctance to do chores around the house, his grandfather told police.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
30 Apr. 2026
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The driver who fatally struck a grandfather in Midtown in 2024 was sentenced with 180 days of work release and 30 days of community service last week — a typically light sentence in California, where many vehicular manslaughter cases are charged as misdemeanors.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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As the Ado Annie-like Betsy, a horny teen-ager whose father owns a shotgun, Kurtz is playing a character who should be, and kind of is, a one-joke punch line.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
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Wilson’s father, Bruce, and Sweeney’s mother, Kelly, are Gayle Wilson’s stepchildren, according to TMZ.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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