as in lineage
the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended
a Cambodian immigrant who can trace her Khmer ancestry as far back as the 16th century
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ancestry
The family, who trace their ancestry to Crete, was so well known that the neighborhood was named after them.
—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
23 June 2026
As part of a $117 million makeover scheduled for completion later this year, the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is currently constructing a new Records Discovery Center where visitors will be able to research their ancestry onsite.
—
Matt Alderton,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
Northwest Indiana has a large number of Lutherans, perhaps not surprising given the high percentage of Hoosiers with German ancestry and the presence of Valparaiso University, a Lutheran school.
—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2026
Read more Nearly a century earlier, Curtis, who was of white and Native ancestry, served as vice president to President Herbert Hoover.
—
Vivian Yee,
New York Times,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for ancestry
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
23 June 2026
As part of a $117 million makeover scheduled for completion later this year, the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is currently constructing a new Records Discovery Center where visitors will be able to research their ancestry onsite.
—
Matt Alderton,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
Northwest Indiana has a large number of Lutherans, perhaps not surprising given the high percentage of Hoosiers with German ancestry and the presence of Valparaiso University, a Lutheran school.
—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2026
Read more Nearly a century earlier, Curtis, who was of white and Native ancestry, served as vice president to President Herbert Hoover.
—
Vivian Yee,
New York Times,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for ancestry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestry
Noun
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Future investment must prioritize data infrastructure, as robust data lineage will be a key competitive moat for physical AI's advancement.
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And whereas Fischer described without judgment the family patterns, social customs, and religious lineage of his four groups, Reynolds contrasts his two on ideological and ultimately moral grounds.
Noun
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Othram, based in The Woodlands, Texas, specializes in advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy, a method that can help investigators identify suspects or unknown victims when traditional law enforcement databases do not produce a match.
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Investigators identified Cheryl using forensic genetic genealogy.
Noun
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The census ancestry and origin data are estimates based on a sample of the population and include margins of error that can be large for small population groups.
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Understanding the origin of life requires addressing a collection of overlapping scientific questions.
Noun
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While Bosnia, 61st in the FIFA rankings, lacks the pedigree of many of those past European opponents, the Americans know this matchup won't be easy.
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The festival boasts a mix of Hollywood glamor and European cinema pedigree that’s impossible to replicate anywhere else.
Noun
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His mother was of European descent and his father was a Cantonese opera star who was on tour in the city, affording his son birthright citizenship.
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Stokesbury said the climber's descent was a long slide down the steep snow slope rather than a straight free fall, with the terrain gradually becoming less steep farther down the mountain.
Noun
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The family fought for three hours last July Fourth to stay alive after more than a summer’s worth of rain fell overnight on bone-dry soil, pushing the waterway from about 3 feet to 30 feet in just 45 minutes.
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History shows family successions, whether in North Korea or Syria, tend to happen through rigid authoritarian control, with the transfer of power underwritten by whoever controls the military.
Noun
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That posture has guided not only the book but also the expansion of the Freakonomics universe into a long-running podcast and live conversations that explore everything from education to horse breeding.
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The zoo, which opened in its current location in 1997, hosts a successful breeding program for the endangered clouded leopard.
Cite this Entry
“Ancestry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestry. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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