as in grandmother
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Recent Examples of ancestress
The intersection of these two facts does convince me that William's genealogical ancestress, Eliza Kewark, did have South Asian ancestry (not totally surprising even in notionally ethnically distinct groups like Armenians or Parsis who have been long resident in India).
—
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 14 June 2013
Instead of being a reticulated mesh the genealogy of mtDNA is a clean and inverted elegant tree leading back to a common ancestress.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2010
Meanwhile, Alice, Dana’s ancestress, never becomes much more than a moral quandary: a stubborn victim who is unable to adapt.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
Yang Asha is the mythical ancestress of the Miao people, an ethnic minority in China closely related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2020
His own mother, aged ninety, who remembered her aunt, had been able to share stories of their ancestress with the grandchildren who’d had no idea, before now, what their background might be.
—Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan’s emperors.
—Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan's emperors.
—NBC News, 22 Oct. 2019
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 14 June 2013
Instead of being a reticulated mesh the genealogy of mtDNA is a clean and inverted elegant tree leading back to a common ancestress.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2010
Meanwhile, Alice, Dana’s ancestress, never becomes much more than a moral quandary: a stubborn victim who is unable to adapt.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
Yang Asha is the mythical ancestress of the Miao people, an ethnic minority in China closely related to the Hmong of Southeast Asia.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2020
His own mother, aged ninety, who remembered her aunt, had been able to share stories of their ancestress with the grandchildren who’d had no idea, before now, what their background might be.
—Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan’s emperors.
—Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2019
Enshrined at Kashikodokoro is the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythological ancestress of Japan's emperors.
—NBC News, 22 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestress
Noun
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His mother was crippled by chronic rheumatoid arthritis, meaning the family survived on her disability payments and his grandmother’s pension.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
3 Apr. 2025
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However, due to her grandmother's age and health, Ingram didn't want to burden her with traveling to meet her baby.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Until recently, the ancestors of insects were thought to be more millipede-like and evolved once invertebrates began to live on land.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
9 Apr. 2025
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During the Pleistocene, our ancestors lived through several different ice ages.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Robyn, 11, and Chuck, 8, had just been picked up early from Camp Timber Lake by their uncle Jim Peel and grandfather Bryan McArthur.—
Tony Holt,
Arkansas Online,
7 Apr. 2025
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Founded by her grandfather 75 years ago, Klem's sells a wide range of products including hardware, pet food and clothes.—
Alina Selyukh,
NPR,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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One of those sisters is the now-dead matriarch who deeded her house to Sophie.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2025
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Shannon is desperately searching for love in the shadow of her gangster father, Dylan (Riley), devoted mum Cat (Fraser), older brother Luke (Gribben) and the indomitable family matriarch, grandma Ollie (Duncan).—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The company isolated expandable endothelial progenitor cells from the blood of red wolves to make their clones.—
Emily Mullin,
Wired News,
7 Apr. 2025
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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
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Curry & Paxton has kept the design philosophy from its forebears alive with a limited set of options in traditional colorways.—
Brett F. Braley-Palko,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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The man who is arguably the most famous or legendary keyboard sideman in rock talked with Variety about the circumstances of his new album, his current west coast tour (with more dates to be added further east) and his eternal eagerness to salute his forebears.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Through our hair and its many rituals, remain the herbalism of our foremothers in the new world, passing down their ingenuity of homemade balms, creams, and oils for hair growth.—
Eshe Ukweli,
refinery29.com,
7 June 2023
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In fact, precursors to modern bleaching processes didn’t come on the scene until the turn of the 20th century, leaving our foremothers and forefathers plenty of time to get creative with their blonde pursuits.—
AJ Willingham,
CNN,
28 May 2023
Noun
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Our forefathers developed low and slow traditions, and that’s a part of barbecue.—
Anna Ortiz,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2025
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View Comments Following the footsteps of her fashion forefathers is also difficult because of high costs and red tape.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN,
22 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ancestress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestress. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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