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precursors

NOUN

something that indicates outcome or event beforehand

Synonyms

STRONGEST

forerunner harbinger

STRONG

herald messenger outrider usher vanguard

NOUN

something that precedes another

Synonyms

STRONGEST

forerunner prototype

STRONG

ancestor antecedent forebear original originator parent pioneer predecessor

WEAK

antecessor foregoer

Antonyms

STRONG

derivative descendant

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This is a problem the EU and its precursors have been thinking about for a long time.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

The rise in oil prices could also increase the cost of important derivative products such as jet fuel and vital precursors for fertilisers.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

What do you think looking for precursors like this does for our historical understanding of fascism?

From Slate • Mar. 2, 2026

Among the precursors of the two-part documentary “Wild Boys: Strangers in Town” is Francois Truffaut’s “The Wild Child” of 1970, the dramatized story of Victor of Aveyron, the celebrated feral enfant of late 1700s France.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Recognizable multipiece weapons at Cro-Magnon sites include harpoons, spear-throwers, and eventually bows and arrows, the precursors of rifles and other multipiece modern weapons.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond