1
as in causes
someone or something responsible for a result
what are the antecedents of the American Revolutionary War?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in forerunners
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
the typewriter is the antecedent of the computer keyboard
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of antecedents
After millennia of antecedents, this latest trend of trying to enlist God into warfare didn’t start in America, of course.
—
Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 3 Apr. 2026
Many musical and social antecedents are responsible for its birth.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Went on to tackle malaria, and that process created both huge successes in modern public health, but also seeded the American public health system county by county across this country, and presented the antecedents of the Centers for Disease Control based in Atlanta.
—Christopher Dilella, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
The goal was to link American culture with its European antecedents—a heady way to justify shedding blood for another continent’s conflict.
—Colton Valentine, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026
For Ann Lee, an arthouse musical that counts among its closest antecedents Robert Eggers’ The Witch and the Björk-starring Dancer in the Dark, Blumberg reworked and retrofitted 10 traditional Shaker hymns, and recorded Seyfried and the other actors live on set.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
My poem works by multisequencing; in each of the three book-sections there are four narratives, and the reader must gather each piece of the narrative as it unspools and connect it to its antecedents—that yields compression.
—Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 23 Oct. 2025
The parallel plotlines involving Ali’s possible descendants and problematic antecedents, including a father (Ercan Kesal) who seems to be particularly abusive towards his wife, collide in highly unusual ways during the movie’s volatile second half.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2025
Seeing around the bend in the river—or even knowing the river ahead does indeed bend—can require the sort of leap of faith that made Vannevar Bush insist that shamans, priests and spiritual seers are the antecedents of today’s engineering stars.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Aug. 2019
Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 3 Apr. 2026
Many musical and social antecedents are responsible for its birth.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Went on to tackle malaria, and that process created both huge successes in modern public health, but also seeded the American public health system county by county across this country, and presented the antecedents of the Centers for Disease Control based in Atlanta.
—Christopher Dilella, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
The goal was to link American culture with its European antecedents—a heady way to justify shedding blood for another continent’s conflict.
—Colton Valentine, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026
For Ann Lee, an arthouse musical that counts among its closest antecedents Robert Eggers’ The Witch and the Björk-starring Dancer in the Dark, Blumberg reworked and retrofitted 10 traditional Shaker hymns, and recorded Seyfried and the other actors live on set.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
My poem works by multisequencing; in each of the three book-sections there are four narratives, and the reader must gather each piece of the narrative as it unspools and connect it to its antecedents—that yields compression.
—Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 23 Oct. 2025
The parallel plotlines involving Ali’s possible descendants and problematic antecedents, including a father (Ercan Kesal) who seems to be particularly abusive towards his wife, collide in highly unusual ways during the movie’s volatile second half.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2025
Seeing around the bend in the river—or even knowing the river ahead does indeed bend—can require the sort of leap of faith that made Vannevar Bush insist that shamans, priests and spiritual seers are the antecedents of today’s engineering stars.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antecedents
Noun
-
The Looking Out Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded by Brandi Carlile which has supported humanitarian causes for over two decades – amplifying the impact of music by awarding grants, engaging community, and creating powerful partnerships.—
Frank Racioppi,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
-
Pullinsi's death from natural causes was announced Wednesday.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
Even the Hammurabi Code, a set of laws created by the sixth Babylonian king in approximately 1760 bce, established forerunners of today’s interest rate and minimum wage laws.—
Chris Roush,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In my own research on Ebola, SARS and MERS, my colleagues and I have shown that the speed at which infected people are identified and removed from the community is one of the strongest determinants of outbreak size.—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
Some count ratings or awards as determinants of quality, while count changes to policy and laws or special commissions of inquiry.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
This is among the most universal pieces of advice from our ancestors.—
Jonathan Haidt,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
-
One by one, group members tearfully thanked their ancestors and poured white rum on the beach.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
And then, thanks to the precursors to the storm that ultimately ended the first round early — the wind, above all else — the weather made the last few shots on the course brutal.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
8 May 2026
-
Take China’s export of fentanyl precursors, which the Drug Enforcement Agency first flagged as a serious problem back in 2015.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Flight 12 will do much the same as its predecessors.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
19 May 2026
-
But some of the retailers that ultimately replaced the general store have some features in common with their main street predecessors.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Antecedents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antecedents. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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