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
By using specific blood cells known as endothelial progenitor cells, or EPCs, Colossal was able to identify and reprogram cells much easier.
—
Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
African-American bluegrass guitarist Arnold Schultz was a Kentuckian whose credits include offering bluegrass progenitor Bill Monroe one of his first paying jobs as a musician, playing together at square dances.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 16 July 2025
Hard rock progenitors Led Zeppelin had the top music documentary in the first half of the year with Becoming Led Zeppelin, which Luminate said helped drive a 23 percent bump in their streaming numbers.
—Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2025
However, none of these methods have, so far, reliably pinpointed the stem cells or progenitors capable of yielding fresh neurons–leaving room for doubt.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
African-American bluegrass guitarist Arnold Schultz was a Kentuckian whose credits include offering bluegrass progenitor Bill Monroe one of his first paying jobs as a musician, playing together at square dances.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 16 July 2025
Hard rock progenitors Led Zeppelin had the top music documentary in the first half of the year with Becoming Led Zeppelin, which Luminate said helped drive a 23 percent bump in their streaming numbers.
—Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2025
However, none of these methods have, so far, reliably pinpointed the stem cells or progenitors capable of yielding fresh neurons–leaving room for doubt.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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Her ancestor’s analytic model discouraged self-revelation by the therapist, but Freud often meets her guests’ excavations of desire and vulnerability with her own candid recollections.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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In Rea Rasmussen's case, the process took 18 months and required building genealogical connections back to ancestors born in the 1780s.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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La Luz del Mundo was founded by Joaquin's grandfather, Eusebio Joaquin Gonzalez, in 1926 and was later led by Joaquin's father, Samuel Joaquin Flores.—
Luc Cohen,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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This is not your father’s or grandfather’s Atherton High School football program, and never was that more evident than Tuesday’s practice at the school.—
Rich Barak,
Louisville Courier Journal,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Celebrating the assassination of a 31 year old father of two young kids is disturbing; that teachers would be among those who do so is completely unacceptable.—
Amy DeLaura,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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His father, a hard-working Russian immigrant and patriotic US bomber pilot, taught him to respect authority.—
Martine Paris,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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