as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
the progenitors of today's Maya once ruled a mighty empire that stretched across much of Central America
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Recent Examples of progenitor
Perhaps an early progenitor of slow cinema, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly remains one of the finest examples of the Western genre and one of Eastwood’s very best performances.
—
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
Keeping in tradition with its American progenitor, the first ever Saturday Night Live UK began with a political send-up cold open.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 21 Mar. 2026
Beane is the progenitor of the Moneyball movement, the search for inefficiency in roster building that, today, has influenced every Major League Baseball front office.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Advertisement With Revere their progenitor, mounted messengers would over the next hours course across Middlesex County and into Essex County and Norfolk County, into the counties of Bristol and Worcester.
—Kostya Kennedy, Time, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
Keeping in tradition with its American progenitor, the first ever Saturday Night Live UK began with a political send-up cold open.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 21 Mar. 2026
Beane is the progenitor of the Moneyball movement, the search for inefficiency in roster building that, today, has influenced every Major League Baseball front office.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Advertisement With Revere their progenitor, mounted messengers would over the next hours course across Middlesex County and into Essex County and Norfolk County, into the counties of Bristol and Worcester.
—Kostya Kennedy, Time, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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In a town in northern Peru, a teenager addicted to video games begins to desecrate the sacred ruins of his ancestors in search of money to continue playing.—
Roberto Prieto,
Variety,
13 May 2026
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Scientists think that may have happened later when our ancestors intermingled with Denisovans.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
Noun
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The murder trial was the capstone to a remarkable fall from grace for the personal injury lawyer, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as the local prosecutor consecutively from 1920 to 2006.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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In November 2013, Scott Hopkins -- now 67 years old and a grandfather -- goes on trial for the murder of Janet Walsh in 1979.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Noun
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In November 2025, the fathers told the court about their child’s birth and a day later, Uthmeier, the AG, began pushing his way into this case.—
Ann Marie Luft,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
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Ahmed’s family of ten—the couple has seven children, and also cares for Ahmed’s elderly father—lives in two adjoining caravans made of metal sheets.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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