1
as in precursor
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 ancestor
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 forerunner
White did take the opportunity, before Friday’s qualifiers, to serve as a forerunner in the pipe alongside 10-year-old Paizley White (no relation), a Whitespace team rider.
—
Michelle Bruton, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
The company plans to recreate the mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, by editing the genome of each species’ closest living relative to make a hybrid animal that would be visually indistinguishable from its extinct forerunner.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
The most obvious forerunner is Video Quartet, a 2002 work in which four screens show four videos simultaneously, each constructed from myriad film clips, all synced in a way that interlaces their soundtracks into a musical composition.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
The notable feature of this particular death factory was its use of gas vans, a forerunner to the larger, more impersonal gas chambers built at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forerunner
Michelle Bruton, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
The company plans to recreate the mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, by editing the genome of each species’ closest living relative to make a hybrid animal that would be visually indistinguishable from its extinct forerunner.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
The most obvious forerunner is Video Quartet, a 2002 work in which four screens show four videos simultaneously, each constructed from myriad film clips, all synced in a way that interlaces their soundtracks into a musical composition.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
The notable feature of this particular death factory was its use of gas vans, a forerunner to the larger, more impersonal gas chambers built at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forerunner
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forerunner
Noun
-
In addition, neighborhoods would no longer be required — as a precursor to meters — to test out two-hour and three-hour parking zones enforced by chalking tires instead of meters.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
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Directed by Arthur Penn, who brought a bold visual style, frank sexuality and graphic, balletic violence to a Hollywood dominated by optimistic pictures, this countercultural romance served as a precursor to the generational tension and mistrust in authority that was quietly pervading the country.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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During the Pleistocene, our ancestors lived through several different ice ages.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
9 Apr. 2025
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Until recently, the ancestors of insects were thought to be more millipede-like and evolved once invertebrates began to live on land.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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An eight-game losing streak in the first month of 2022 was a harbinger of what was in store for Tony La Russa’s final season as Sox manager.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Apr. 2025
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From Chipper Jones in 1999 to Edwin Encarnación in 2013, Dotel was a harbinger of what pitching has become.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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After earmarking 610 billion won ($414 million) to build a battery plant near its Busan headquarters, the company unveiled its battery prototype in March 2024, touting it as more powerful than Tesla’s.—
Gloria Haraito,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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The prototype Bat flipped the traditional coaster concept on its head — with the trains swinging from side to side while hanging below the track.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The authors of the Yale study sincerely see themselves as heralds of empirical science, whatever the political ramifications.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2025
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This sleek argent-toned agent was once Norrin Radd, a historian from the planet Zenn-La who signed up to be Galactus’ herald to spare his homeworld from an unthinkable fate.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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And where the signs of new beginnings are evident everywhere.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
17 Apr. 2025
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Dark Cherry Getty Images Getty Images Cherry cola hair has been on the come-up since fall 2023, and the trend—or some version of dark cherry or burgundy hair—shows no signs of slowing down in 2025.—
Avery Stone,
Allure,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Instead of encountering the risen Lord, these women see two angels.—
Eliza Griswold,
New Yorker,
19 Apr. 2025
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Bruno Ganz, in an unforgettable performance, plays an angel who can hear the thoughts of the denizens of Berlin and decides to give up his immortality to join them.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forerunner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forerunner. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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