as in predecessor
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Recent Examples of antecessor
From fossils found in Spain, researchers have deduced that H. antecessor lived in Western Europe between 1.2 million and 800,000 years ago.
—
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2025
The team theorizes that the unknown species arrived in Western Europe before H. antecessor, but that the two species probably overlapped.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2025
But while Pink’s remains don’t match its more modern H. antecessor relatives, researchers stopped short of identifying them as belonging to the H. erectus family.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2025
With that information, the researchers could place H. antecessor more confidently within the human lineage.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 1 Apr. 2020
But visual inspection could not resolve where H. antecessor fit in the hominin lineup.
—Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2020
Though, a protein analysis of the 800,000-year-old tooth enamel of a H. antecessor published last year lends his theory credence.
—Connor Lynch, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2021
The physical features of H. antecessor have left anthropologists puzzling over its relationships with other early humans.
—Michael Price, Science | AAAS, 1 Apr. 2020
The EVAs are both primal antecessors and evolved descendants of humans; occasionally, the two beings are one and the same.
—Maya Phillips, The New Yorker, 21 June 2019
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2025
The team theorizes that the unknown species arrived in Western Europe before H. antecessor, but that the two species probably overlapped.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2025
But while Pink’s remains don’t match its more modern H. antecessor relatives, researchers stopped short of identifying them as belonging to the H. erectus family.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2025
With that information, the researchers could place H. antecessor more confidently within the human lineage.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 1 Apr. 2020
But visual inspection could not resolve where H. antecessor fit in the hominin lineup.
—Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2020
Though, a protein analysis of the 800,000-year-old tooth enamel of a H. antecessor published last year lends his theory credence.
—Connor Lynch, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2021
The physical features of H. antecessor have left anthropologists puzzling over its relationships with other early humans.
—Michael Price, Science | AAAS, 1 Apr. 2020
The EVAs are both primal antecessors and evolved descendants of humans; occasionally, the two beings are one and the same.
—Maya Phillips, The New Yorker, 21 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antecessor
Noun
-
This breaks from tradition, as many of Pope Francis' predecessors have been buried inside the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica, Reuters reported.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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While popes have the option of keeping their baptismal name, every pope for the last 470 years has chosen to change his name, usually to honor a predecessor and to signal their intention to emulate his example.—
Phoebe Natanson,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Like all Guna, Lisa’s ancestors were not native island dwellers.—
Mark Johanson,
AFAR Media,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Water bottle The modern-day source of water for many people—their water bottle—may be just as germ-filled as our ancient ancestors’ go-to watering hole.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The company isolated expandable endothelial progenitor cells from the blood of red wolves to make their clones.—
Emily Mullin,
Wired News,
7 Apr. 2025
-
In this timeless progenitor of low-budget horror cinema, a woman survives a devastating car accident and begins seeing paranormal visions of ghoulish men who pursue her to the ends of the earth and her sanity.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Given his grandfather’s negative views on homosexuality, Min has not yet discussed being gay with his grandmother.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
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Her family is from the Bahamas, and Bowe's 92-year-old grandfather traveled to Texas to watch her launch to space.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The statistics were grim—twenty-first-century males were, relative to their forefathers and their female contemporaries, much more likely to fall behind in school, drop out of college, languish in the workforce, or die by overdose or suicide.—
Andrew Marantz,
The New Yorker,
17 Mar. 2025
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Trapping has evolved quite a bit since our forefathers first set out for beaver in the 1800s.—
Skye Goode,
Outdoor Life,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Assimilation would have made life easier for French-speaking Babs and her forebears, but fitting in wasn’t for them.—
Lisa Henricksson,
Air Mail,
29 Mar. 2025
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And then there’s that — art history, her forebears, with whom these paintings are communing.—
Adam Moss,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Like its classic-rock forebearer Desert Trip, the concert will bring two acts per night to Indio’s Empire Polo Club, on the weekend of Oct. 6-8.—
August Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2023
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After leaving Alabama, Avinger served a year in the U.S. Army, then signed for a season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union, one of the forebearers of the Canadian Football League.—
Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com,
al,
17 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Antecessor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antecessor. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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