as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
the family held a huge reunion to mark the 200th anniversary of their primogenitors' arrival in America
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primogenitor
Noun
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Norman Wong, a descendant of Wong Kim Ark, poses for a portrait in front of a mural of his late ancestor, in San Francisco.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026 -
The Northern Cheyenne chief Little Wolf exemplified this resolve in the 1860s and ’70s, leading his people in many different battles to defend the North Country of his ancestors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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And while the circumstances of his birth may have been historic, Phillips’ education was traditional for the family, following in the footsteps of his uncle Charles and grandfather, Prince Philip, and cutting his teeth at Gordonstoun School in Scotland.—
Stephanie Bridger-Linning,
Vanity Fair,
2 Apr. 2026
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But Koehnemann also learned from his grandfather Ryne Sandberg, a Chicago Cubs legend and 2005 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee who died in Lake Bluff on July 28, 2025.—
Steve Reaven,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Mohamad Faisal, one of Shah Alam's children, previously told Reuters that his father's arrest about a year ago was due to a misunderstanding with police officers.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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Her father was seated on a chair with one foot tucked under him, and her mother was sitting on the sofa with both feet curled under her.—
Jacobina Martin,
Washington Post,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The progenitor of this family is thought to be the fragmentation of a large sungrazing comet described by the ancient Greek philosopherAristotle in 371 BC.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
31 Mar. 2026
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Müntzer’s teachings helped provoke the widespread uprising of the German peasants in 1525, and have served as a kind of progenitor inspiration for later communist thinkers, from Friedrich Engels to Ernst Bloch.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Primogenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primogenitor. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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