foremother

noun

Definition of foremothernext
as in grandmother

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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 foremother The show is partly Star's love letter to the glamour of Paris (a city he's been enamored with since his teens), with a protagonist who embodies both the winningest and messiest instincts of her foremother, Carrie Bradshaw. — Harper's BAZAAR, 10 Jan. 2023 No one emerges at the end of the book as entirely good or bad (save, perhaps, for Busia, Regan’s culinary foremother). — Makana Eyre, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2023 In a year when avant-pop stars such as Rosalía thrilled with volcanic vocals and cybernetic beats, their foremother dug in yet-stranger soil. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2022 Taking inspiration from her literary foremother Zora Neale Hurston, Walker centers southern Black women, who are all too often misrepresented in American culture. — Usa Today Staff, USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2021 See All Example Sentences for foremother
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foremother
  1. grandmother
  2. ancestress
  3. matriarch
  4. forebear
  5. ancestor
Noun
  • But there is something else tied to his Jewish heritage that keeps things in perspective — the struggles his grandmother went through escaping liquidation at the hand of the Nazis in her Polish hometown.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The 20-year-old lost her mother, sister and grandmother – along with other relatives including a one-month old nephew.
    — Bhadra Sharma, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of grandmother
Noun
  • 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
Definition of ancestress
Noun
  • After Davis’ single appearance, Anne Baxter would step in as the matriarch of the series (as a new character), an ironic echo of Baxter’s Eve ambitiously attempting to usurp Davis’ Margo in the classic All About Eve.
    — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Aug. 2026
  • In Leanne, the eponymous Southern matriarch is faced with starting over when her husband of 33 years leaves her for another woman.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of matriarch
Noun
  • Harking back to its Jurassic forbear, The End of Oak Street channels everyone's favorite '80s Amblin classics, but with a far more vicious bite.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Some of his forebears emigrated before the genocide; others barely got out.
    — Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 19 July 2026
Definition of forebear
Noun
  • Its rise also marks the beginning of the Hindu celebration of Pitru Paksha, during which worshippers perform rites to honor ancestors by offering prayers and food to past members of their families.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • While Qingming focuses primarily on one’s own ancestors, the Hungry Ghost Festival extends offerings to wandering spirits and the unclaimed dead.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of ancestor

Browse Nearby Words

foremost
foremother
foremothers
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Cite this Entry

“Foremother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foremother. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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