forerunner

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.

Two years later, though, Jospin won a revenge of sorts when the cocky Chirac called an early general election, expecting his right-wing RPR party -- forerunner of Nicolas Sarkozy's Republicans -- to win easily.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

Brought online with the Cuban missile crisis, the system linked remote computers via telephone lines, a forerunner to the internet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

If Athol Fugard’s “Blood Knot” is a forerunner of Parks’ creation, then Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “The Brothers Size” is a direct descendant.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2025

Instead of being able to tout her country as a forerunner in research or practice, the anti-science resurgence has forced Botha to ask whether it is even safe to attend American conferences.

From Salon • Mar. 2, 2025

More nuanced and more revealing is Wills’s other remark—that “Everett’s classicism was as much the forerunner of Lincoln’s talk as its foil or contrast.”

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith