1
as in forerunners
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
the abacus is sometimes cited as the archetype of the modern digital calculator
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in originals
something from which copies are made
Beowulf is considered by some scholars to be the archetype for medieval British heroic tales
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of archetypes
But there's something a bit anticlimactic about ending it in that basement, as if the characters never had lives outside the archetypes the show made for them, cribbed from a role-playing game.
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Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
This genre fluidity allows the spiritual to heighten the narrative, dealing with archetypes like the supernaturally gifted musician.
—Robert Lang, Deadline, 18 Dec. 2025
In these seasons, the archetypes provide a narrative lens not only for audiences but for the players to see themselves in the game—what’s the social cost of betraying their family?
—Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
Creator Mike Makowsky shapes the source material, Candice Millard’s nonfiction book Destiny of the Republic, into a collection of quintessentially American archetypes.
—Judy Berman, Time, 28 Nov. 2025
While the technical execution and immersive visuals of the Upside Down have never been more impressive, and the pop culture references as fun as ever, Herman argued that the show continues to rely on familiar archetypes and recycled plot structures rather than offering deeper character development.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
After all, Perfidia explodes other archetypes, too—for instance, abdicating her roles as a mother and romantic partner to continue her work.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
Under Mikel Arteta, they have been held up as the archetypes of this anti-style; the best set-piece team in the league, with its stingiest defence.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
The research is zeroing in on three fabric archetypes—cotton knit, cotton woven and polyester knit—to get some idea of what variables influence their shedding and to what extent, none of which has been intuitive.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for archetypes
Noun
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The primacy of a central meeting space can be traced to the Greek Empire with the agora, among other forerunners.—
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Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.—
Noun
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Meanwhile, Mayor of Kingstown, which — like most Sheridan series — is expensive to make, has not broken into Nielsen’s originals Top 10 with its fourth season having done so with previous installments.—
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Labubus have become a hot commodity since then, as consumers worldwide fight to nab originals for themselves.—
Noun
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Susanne Hammel-Sawyer grew up in Santa Barbara knowing nearly nothing about the traditions of her Chumash ancestors.—
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In October 2024, the lab firm used genealogical mapping, in which unidentified DNA is traced to relatives and ancestors to produce a more precise genetic profile and possible identity, to point to Contreras, according to the affidavit.—
Noun
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Therefore, seeing multiple green aircraft together strongly suggests serial (repeat) production, not one-off prototypes.—
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Needless to say, the prototypes got a bit bent and the pilots ended up in full white-knuckle mode.—
Noun
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Those materials include sodium perchlorate, ammonium perchlorate precursors and nitrocellulose, all key components in solid-fuel rocket motors.—
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But as the precursors have rolled in, co-star Benicio Del Toro — playing a character the audience loves and roots for — has swept nearly every major critics group.—
Noun
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That said, many of the gains players made here won’t dramatically affect their bottom lines, and the reality is that most players on ECHL deals will still need those second jobs and other sources of income to continue to chase their dream of making it to the next level.—
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But sources with knowledge of the business tell PEOPLE that the interpretation misses critical context — and that the data instead points to a brand experiencing strong demand and preparing for international expansion.—
Noun
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There are other examples of lawmakers leaving public office for lobbying roles, but keeping their accounts open and spending from them.—
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These are just three examples of how the Canadiens used the teardown to not only acquire future assets, like any other teardown, but also used those future assets as trade capital to move the overall rebuild along at a quicker pace.—
Cite this Entry
“Archetypes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archetypes. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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