PRECURSOR Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'precursor' distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of precursor are forerunner , harbinger , and herald . While all these words mean "one that goes before or announces the coming of another," precursor applies to a person or thing paving the way for the success or accomplishment of another. // 18th century poets like Burns were precursors of the Romantics

Q: In what contexts can 'forerunner' take the place of 'precursor'?

The words forerunner and precursor are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, forerunner is applicable to anything that serves as a sign or presage. // the blockade was the forerunner of war

Q: How are the words 'harbinger' and 'herald' related as synonyms of 'precursor'?

Harbinger and herald both apply, chiefly figuratively, to one that proclaims or announces the coming or arrival of a notable event. // their early victory was the harbinger of a winning season // the herald of a new age in medicine

precursor

noun

pri-ˈkər-sər

Definition of precursor next

as in forerunner

one that announces or indicates the later arrival of another 18th-century lyric poets like Robert Burns were precursors of the Romantics

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in ancestor

something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed a precursor of the modern eggplant

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word precursor distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of precursor are forerunner, harbinger, and herald. While all these words mean "one that goes before or announces the coming of another," precursor applies to a person or thing paving the way for the success or accomplishment of another.

18th century poets like Burns were precursors of the Romantics

In what contexts can forerunner take the place of precursor?

The words forerunner and precursor are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, forerunner is applicable to anything that serves as a sign or presage.

the blockade was the forerunner of war

How are the words harbinger and herald related as synonyms of precursor?

Harbinger and herald both apply, chiefly figuratively, to one that proclaims or announces the coming or arrival of a notable event.

their early victory was the harbinger of a winning season

the herald of a new age in medicine

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of precursor Reducing illicit supplies of the drug, precursors of which are mostly produced in China and Mexico, has become an area in which Washington and Beijing have agreed to cooperate. —

Darla Mercado, Cfp®,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2025 Public health departments would have to start collecting that information and providing it to county clerks for their records, as a precursor to implementing the president's order. —

Andrew Keatts, Axios, 21 Jan. 2025 After a brief involvement with Adolph Zukor’s Paramount-Artcraft Pictures, a precursor to Paramount Pictures, Ince formed another outfit in Culver City, Ince Studios, which ran from 1919 to 1924. —

Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Jan. 2025 Additionally, its precursor, N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), can be taken, which the body then converts into the glutathione. —

Jessica Ourisman, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for precursor

Recent Examples of Synonyms for precursor

Noun

Three years before the convention, the Nixon administration had presented a draft treaty that proposed a forerunner to the International Seabed Authority: an agency established by the Law of the Sea that would collect royalties from underwater resources and distribute them to the developing world.

— Jack Truesdale, The Atlantic, 25 Jan. 2025
According to Hall, Minute Man was a forerunner in a number of fast-food concepts.

— Mike Keckhaver), arkansasonline.com, 11 Jan. 2025