PROTOTYPE Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

prototype

noun

ˈprō-tə-ˌtīp

Definition of prototype

as in example

one of a group or collection that shows what the whole is like a literary character who is regarded as the prototype of the fanatical and intolerant pursuer of justice

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in forerunner

something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed the Greek epic that is the prototype of the hero myth

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in original

something from which copies are made the manufacturer exhaustively tested the prototype of the vehicle before approving production

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 prototype More than 100,000 Flock cameras have been installed around the country since 2017, when the company first started rolling out prototypes. — Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026 One of them was this Torcal prototype, which was being used to shuttle journalists (your author included) around to give them a taste of the company’s first electric SUV. — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 27 Aug. 2026 Lampkin’s football story is about suspending disbelief and acknowledging exceptions to prototypes. — Zach Berman, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 The goal, when the company sends a prototype mission on a lunar lander later this decade, is to test everything on Earth in conditions similar to those on the Moon. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for prototype

Recent Examples of Synonyms for prototype

Noun

There are already examples in other sports of athletes moving between professional and college systems without producing the same alarm.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
CrowdStrike offered another example of AI becoming a tailwind rather than a threat.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of example

Noun

Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
One of the forerunners today in Madeira and the Azores is António Maçanita from Azores Wine Company.

— Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of forerunner

Noun

Joey King plays Sally’s other daughter, Kylie, while Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as the spell-casting sisters from the 1998 original.

— Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 28 Aug. 2026
Manifest creator Jeff Rake is teaming with Margaret Easley and Laura Putney, writers and co-executive producers on the original, for Arrivals.

— Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of original

Noun

On their 30th anniversary in business the couple spoke with The Bee about their start in Sacramento and how Marlene Goetzeler would offer free samples to people waiting in their cars for the freight train to pass at the nearby crossing.

— Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026
The four samples contained mixtures of reactive dyes rather than the single dyes frequently examined in previous stripping research.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of sample

Noun

Meanwhile, Iran and Oman were discussing a joint temporary shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz and mind clearing mission, a precursor to a permanent arrangement to administer the waterway.

— Justina Lee, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
This can be a precursor to doing heel-to-toe walking and can build confidence in someone’s ability to stay upright.

— Connie Etermadi, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of precursor

Noun

Essay Get the Lead Out Alex Manley Our ancestors were born to die by predators.

— Naomi Skwarna, hazlitt.net, 25 Aug. 2026
For the last decade, genealogical consultant Grant Din has helped Asian Americans find information about their ancestors, many of whom passed through San Francisco’s Angel Island Immigration Station in the 1900s.

— Stephanie Lam, Mercury News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestor

Noun

There have been scattered instances of athletes returning to their previous school for the extra season, including two LSU women’s soccer players who are part of the case.

— Seth Emerson, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Even instances of heckling at games – over performance on the court – felt good-natured, rather than insulting.

— Odette Yousef, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of instance

Browse Nearby Words

protocols

prototype

prototypes

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Style

“Prototype.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prototype. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of prototype

noun

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