as in grandmother
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Recent Examples of ancestress
Meanwhile, Alice, Dana’s ancestress, never becomes much more than a moral quandary: a stubborn victim who is unable to adapt.
—
Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
Yang Asha is the mythical ancestress of the Miao people, an ethnic minority in China closely related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2020
His own mother, aged ninety, who remembered her aunt, had been able to share stories of their ancestress with the grandchildren who’d had no idea, before now, what their background might be.
—Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan’s emperors.
—Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan's emperors.
—NBC News, 22 Oct. 2019
The intersection of these two facts does convince me that William's genealogical ancestress, Eliza Kewark, did have South Asian ancestry (not totally surprising even in notionally ethnically distinct groups like Armenians or Parsis who have been long resident in India).
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 14 June 2013
Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
Yang Asha is the mythical ancestress of the Miao people, an ethnic minority in China closely related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2020
His own mother, aged ninety, who remembered her aunt, had been able to share stories of their ancestress with the grandchildren who’d had no idea, before now, what their background might be.
—Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan’s emperors.
—Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan's emperors.
—NBC News, 22 Oct. 2019
The intersection of these two facts does convince me that William's genealogical ancestress, Eliza Kewark, did have South Asian ancestry (not totally surprising even in notionally ethnically distinct groups like Armenians or Parsis who have been long resident in India).
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 14 June 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestress
Noun
-
He was raised by his mother and his maternal grandmother, who legally adopted him.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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In low, incantatory voices, the lamas were reading from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, encouraging my grandmother to move forward without fear in the bardo between death and rebirth.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
My mom is like the pinnacle of the family, and the matriarch.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
24 Oct. 2025
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During the season 7 premiere of Hulu’s The Kardashians, the Kardashian-Jenner family matriarch, 69, and her daughters reflect on the Los Angeles abode that served as the backdrop for many memorable moments on their original reality series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The ancestors were taken from the Riverside Cemetery site near the Menominee River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between 1961 and 1963 during a joint excavation led by anthropologists Robert Retzenthaler for the Milwaukee Public Museum and Robert Hrushka for the Oshkosh Public Museum.—
Frank Vaisvilas,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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Furthermore, the analyses consistently position the new species as an ancestor of the entire dyrosaurid group.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Preppy style—like its most notable modern progenitor, Ralph Lauren—is coded as all-American.—
Eric Twardzik,
Robb Report,
22 Oct. 2025
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Theosophy, or divine wisdom, was a progenitor of the New Age movement of the 20th century.—
Madison Beveridge,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Through our hair and its many rituals, remain the herbalism of our foremothers in the new world, passing down their ingenuity of homemade balms, creams, and oils for hair growth.—
Eshe Ukweli,
refinery29.com,
7 June 2023
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In fact, precursors to modern bleaching processes didn’t come on the scene until the turn of the 20th century, leaving our foremothers and forefathers plenty of time to get creative with their blonde pursuits.—
AJ Willingham,
CNN,
28 May 2023
Noun
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Internationally, the procedural format has enduring appeal so hopes were high for Boston Blue, especially as its forebear, Blue Bloods, had established a strong fanbase globally.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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Like their forebears in a bygone era of Republican politics, their beliefs are defined by faith in free markets and suspicion of government meddling in society.—
David M. Drucker,
Twin Cities,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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