ancestral
adjective
an·ces·tral
an-ˈse-strəl 
: of, relating to, or inherited from an ancestor
ancestral estates
Examples of ancestral in a Sentence
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Iceland’s geothermal hot springs and Finland’s sweat bathing culture hint at ancestral warmth, but there’s no hard evidence that Vikings intentionally alternated hot and cold exposure for recovery.
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Marisa McMillan, Outside, 29 Dec. 2025
Those 86 million-year-old bones appear to be connected to a dinosaur closely linked to the direct ancestor of all tyrannosaurs, if not the direct ancestral species itself, according to research published in the journal Nature.
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 28 Dec. 2025
That is the meaning of the phrase unceded and ancestral territory in those seemingly benign land acknowledgements.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 27 Dec. 2025
Placing coffins on cliffs would have turned burial sites into long-lasting landmarks that signposted territory and ancestral claims over land.
—New Atlas, 27 Dec. 2025
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Marisa McMillan, Outside, 29 Dec. 2025
Those 86 million-year-old bones appear to be connected to a dinosaur closely linked to the direct ancestor of all tyrannosaurs, if not the direct ancestral species itself, according to research published in the journal Nature.
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 28 Dec. 2025
That is the meaning of the phrase unceded and ancestral territory in those seemingly benign land acknowledgements.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 27 Dec. 2025
Placing coffins on cliffs would have turned burial sites into long-lasting landmarks that signposted territory and ancestral claims over land.
—New Atlas, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ancestral
Cite this Entry
“Ancestral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ancestral. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.
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ancestral
adjective
an·ces·tral
an-ˈses-trəl
: of, relating to, or developed from an ancestor
ancestral home
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