as in grandmother
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Recent Examples of ancestress
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
Instead of being a reticulated mesh the genealogy of mtDNA is a clean and inverted elegant tree leading back to a common ancestress.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2010
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
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 14 June 2013
Instead of being a reticulated mesh the genealogy of mtDNA is a clean and inverted elegant tree leading back to a common ancestress.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2010
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestress
Noun
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Shabtai shows us a tattoo on his arm that’s a reminder of his grandmother and her roots.—
Andy Wang,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
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Erick traces his love for cooking back to his grandmother and his parents.—
Sunny Hubler,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Cajuns of south Louisiana trace their ancestors to the French Acadians exiled from Nova Scotia around 1755.—
Kristy Christiansen,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2025
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Capes were an homage to the ones worn by his shepherd ancestors, who practiced transhumance in the Caucasus for centuries, reworked by Gassanoff in a sheer chiffon-like fabric or in a thick wool version, both with very structured silhouettes.—
Alberto Calabrese,
Vogue,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Journalism is part of my heritage: My great great grandfather was a Civil War correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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Not only with the union, but with many beyond the company’s workers – including its retirees and a much larger number of voters spread across the industrial Midwest who remember the company’s former might, when their fathers, grandfathers or even great-grandfathers worked there.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The matriarch of the Dutton family, who writes letters to Spencer like diary entries, is the majestic Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton with a gruff Harrison Ford impeccably playing her loving husband, Jacob Dutton.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
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Claudine Jasper, the matriarch of Purpose, the latest work of irreverence and soul-searching by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.—
Soraya Nadia McDonald,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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He is considered by many to be a forebear of today’s right-wing leaders such as Donald Trump.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
7 Jan. 2025
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The finding is a notable puzzle piece that could help shed light on the earliest forebears of mammals, experts said.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN,
19 Dec. 2024
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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Trapping has evolved quite a bit since our forefathers first set out for beaver in the 1800s.—
Skye Goode,
Outdoor Life,
27 Feb. 2025
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The boy’s sensitivities — and love of reading — mark him out for a different path than the field work of his forefathers.—
Nicolas Rapold,
Deadline,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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