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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For years, the grandchildren had been discussing an all-cousin trip as a sort of reunion, but wanted to include their grandmother.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
1 Aug. 2025
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Wilson and Adrianna Williams were her parents, Rose was the baby’s maternal grandmother, and Braydon Williams was Adrianna’s brother and the baby girl’s uncle.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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For seven years, Bishop played the affluent, unyielding and ever-sharp family matriarch Emily Gilmore.—
Erin Spencer Sairam,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
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The family was celebrating matriarch Terri's birthday by releasing five sea turtles back into the wild, according to Bindi's Instagram.—
Alexandra Schonfeld,
People.com,
24 July 2025
Noun
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That was how your ancestors lived for almost all of human history.—
John C. Goodman,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
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Our ancestors hunted and gathered for meat and berries and embarked on treacherous overseas journeys for the promise of fertile land.—
Maggie Anders,
Oc Register,
29 July 2025
Noun
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Topline Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal progenitors Black Sabbath and a multi-platinum selling solo artist, has died at 76, his family confirmed to the BBC, just weeks after his final performance with his old band while still battling Parkinson’s disease.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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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
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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As summer temperatures continue to rise, perhaps Americans will start to look back with envy on the ways our forebears beat the heat.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
26 July 2025
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Like his Condé forebears, Graydon had learned to weaponize exclusivity.—
Michael Grynbaum,
HollywoodReporter,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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