as in founders
a person who establishes a whole new field of endeavor
Theodor Herzl is often credited as the founding father of modern Zionism
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Recent Examples of founding fathers
In fact, Leticia was established by the Peruvian military in the 1800s and takes its name from the girlfriend of one of its founding fathers.
—
John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
More than a month after his death, Ozzy Osbourne’s music has largely slipped away from the Billboard charts following the headline-grabbing news that one of rock’s founding fathers had passed away.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Building back Luke Bolander is a senior and one of the founding fathers of KU’s new Delta Upsilon chapter, which was reinstated in 2023 after a 2018 scandal where pledges were urinated on, spat on and hit repeatedly for coming forward with hazing reports, The Kansan wrote.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2025
Jobs was one of the three founding fathers of Pixar Animation Studios, after having purchased the group from LucasFilm in 1986.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025
John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
More than a month after his death, Ozzy Osbourne’s music has largely slipped away from the Billboard charts following the headline-grabbing news that one of rock’s founding fathers had passed away.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Building back Luke Bolander is a senior and one of the founding fathers of KU’s new Delta Upsilon chapter, which was reinstated in 2023 after a 2018 scandal where pledges were urinated on, spat on and hit repeatedly for coming forward with hazing reports, The Kansan wrote.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2025
Jobs was one of the three founding fathers of Pixar Animation Studios, after having purchased the group from LucasFilm in 1986.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for founding fathers
Noun
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Talk to founders, learn from their successes and mistakes.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
15 Sep. 2025
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Sepultura founders Max and Iggor Cavalera will perform the band’s Chaos AD album in full at the show.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Some are value-destroying black holes; others are relentless value creators.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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The Studio dominated its first season at the Emmys — but the show's creators showed no love to Sal Saperstein.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Male dogs aren't exactly doting fathers.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Brett Eagleson and Elizabeth Miller both lost their fathers in the attack.—
September 11,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The rapidly changing publishing environment has opened opportunities for players like Publishizer, as well as crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, where authors also run preorder campaigns.—
Elaine Pofeldt,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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The authors of the Cheyava Falls paper spent a year in the peer-review process, and during that time their discovery was publicly known.—
David W. Brown,
New Yorker,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Founding fathers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/founding%20fathers. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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