as in forerunners
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
the once-ubiquitous typewriter was the predecessor of today's electronic keyboard
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Recent Examples of predecessors
Yet Kennedy’s very eccentricity may prove to be a great asset given the failure of his sensible predecessors.
—
Adrian Wooldridge, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2025
Can America’s eccentric new health and human services secretary succeed where so many of his sensible predecessors have failed?
—Adrian Wooldridge, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2025
Smith, though, applies the moniker more readily to his predecessors who ventured heroically into the relative unknown.
—Julia Boatman, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2025
Of course, many will say that previous generations had it just as hard, and that millennials and Gen Z are facing the challenges that their predecessors overcame.
—Daniel R. Depetris, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
Unlike its hydraulic predecessors, this version is powered by a fully electric system with all-electric actuators.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
This new generation of Atlas is stronger and more dexterous than its predecessors, with a broader range of motion that sometimes exceeds human capabilities.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Unlike their early-aughts predecessors, today’s capri leggings come in various fabrics and sophisticated silhouettes.
—Gabriela Garcia, Glamour, 8 Apr. 2025
But Carr's two immediate predecessors—Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Ajit Pai—both said that punishing stations based on the content of news programs would violate the First Amendment right to free speech.
—ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2025
Adrian Wooldridge, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2025
Can America’s eccentric new health and human services secretary succeed where so many of his sensible predecessors have failed?
—Adrian Wooldridge, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2025
Smith, though, applies the moniker more readily to his predecessors who ventured heroically into the relative unknown.
—Julia Boatman, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2025
Of course, many will say that previous generations had it just as hard, and that millennials and Gen Z are facing the challenges that their predecessors overcame.
—Daniel R. Depetris, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
Unlike its hydraulic predecessors, this version is powered by a fully electric system with all-electric actuators.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
This new generation of Atlas is stronger and more dexterous than its predecessors, with a broader range of motion that sometimes exceeds human capabilities.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Unlike their early-aughts predecessors, today’s capri leggings come in various fabrics and sophisticated silhouettes.
—Gabriela Garcia, Glamour, 8 Apr. 2025
But Carr's two immediate predecessors—Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Ajit Pai—both said that punishing stations based on the content of news programs would violate the First Amendment right to free speech.
—ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predecessors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predecessors. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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