FOREBEAR. That’s your answer if you’re staring at eight blank squares and the clue reads “antecedent.”
The term appeared in The Sun crossword on October 26, 2025, and crossword databases show it’s the most searched solution for this clue. But here’s where it gets interesting: 168 different answers work for this single clue, depending on letter count and puzzle difficulty.
Table of Contents
Top Solutions by Letter Count
8 Letters: FOREBEAR or ANCESTOR
FOREBEAR dominated searches following its appearance in The Sun. ANCESTOR showed up in the Times Concise on April 14, 2025, with crossword-solver.io showing a 98% match rate.
Both terms mean the same thing. Your great-grandparents were your forebears. Your ancestors. Simple as that.
9 Letters: PRECURSOR
This answer ran in the Puzzler crossword on January 5, 2026. A precursor is something that comes before another thing and signals its arrival.
5 Letters: PRIOR
Wall Street Journal used this answer on January 28, 2023. Newsday ran it on May 5, 2017. Shorter puzzles favor this solution.
Why One Clue Has 168 Answers
The word works three different ways:
Someone who came before you. Ancestor, forebear, predecessor, forerunner.
Something that happened first. Cause, origin, basis, reason.
A grammar term. In “John said he was tired,” John is the antecedent of “he.”
Crossword constructors use all these definitions. The New York Times might go literary with HARBINGER. The Sun keeps it straightforward with ANCESTOR.
Recent Puzzle Data
| Puzzle | Date | Answer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sun | Oct 26, 2025 | FOREBEAR | 8 |
| Puzzler | Jan 5, 2026 | PRECURSOR | 9 |
| Times Concise | Apr 14, 2025 | ANCESTOR | 8 |
| Wall Street Journal | Jan 28, 2023 | PRIOR | 5 |
Solving Method
Count your squares first. Eight letters? Start with FOREBEAR or ANCESTOR. Five letters? Try PRIOR.
Use crossing letters. Got an O in position two? FOREBEAR fits. An N in position two? ANCESTOR works.
Check the publication. The Sun and Times Concise run ANCESTOR and FOREBEAR regularly. Wall Street Journal prefers PRIOR.
Quick crosswords stick with common words. Cryptic puzzles pull from the full 168-answer list.
Complete Answer Breakdown
2-3 Letters: EX, ERE
5 Letters: PRIOR, CAUSE, EARLY, ELDER, FIRST, BASIS, CHIEF, ENVOY, GUIDE, MEANS, OLDER, POINT, PRIME, SCOUT
6 Letters: BEFORE, FORMER, HERALD, ORIGIN, REASON, BEARER, ESCORT, FACTOR, GROUND, LEADER, MOTIVE, RUNNER, SENIOR, SOURCE
7 Letters: EARLIER, PIONEER, PREDATE, FORERUN, COURIER, HEADING, INITIAL
8 Letters (Most Common): FOREBEAR, ANCESTOR, ANTERIOR, ANTEDATE, FOREGOER, FOREMOST, FORMERLY, ORIGINAL, PREVIOUS, STIMULUS, SUPERIOR, VANGUARD, EMISSARY, EXPLORER, GUARDIAN
9 Letters: PRECURSOR, HARBINGER, FOREGOING, ERSTWHILE, AFORESAID, ANCESTORS, ASCENDING, BEGINNING
10+ Letters: FORERUNNER (10), PREDECESSOR (11), INSTRUMENTALITY (15)
Grammar vs General Meaning
English teachers know “antecedent” as the noun a pronoun refers back to. “Maria grabbed her coat” puts Maria as the antecedent of her.
Logic professors use it differently. In “If it rains, the game gets cancelled,” the “if it rains” part is the antecedent.
Crossword clues ignore these technical definitions. They want synonyms for “something that came first.”
Pattern Recognition Tips
The-crossword-solver.com tracks which answers appear most:
High frequency: FOREBEAR, ANCESTOR, PRIOR, CAUSE, BEFORE
Medium frequency: PRECURSOR, HARBINGER, FORERUNNER, PREDECESSOR
Rare but valid: INSTRUMENTALITY, ANTECEDE, EXORDIAL
Puzzle difficulty matters. Monday New York Times? Think PRIOR or ELDER. Friday grid? Could be anything from the 168 options.
Word Origins
Latin gives us “ante” (before) plus “cedere” (to yield). Literally means “going before.” That’s why dozens of synonyms work. Anything that goes before something else counts as an antecedent.
Verification Sources
Crossword-solver.io maintains 40 confirmed answers with daily updates. The-crossword-solver.com lists all 168 documented solutions. Dan Word tracks appearances by publication and date.
These databases pull from The Sun, Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, LA Times, and Newsday archives going back decades.
When Standard Answers Don’t Fit
Check these alternatives by length:
4 letters: FORE, PAST, ONCE, BASE
6 letters: SOONER, ELDERS
7 letters: EARLIER, FORERUN
10 letters: FORERUNNER
Constructors sometimes use compound terms or obscure synonyms. If your crossing letters seem right but nothing fits, the puzzle might have an error. It happens.
Bottom Line
Write FOREBEAR for eight letters. ANCESTOR works too. PRIOR handles five-letter spots. PRECURSOR fills nine squares.
The clue has 168 valid solutions because “antecedent” means anything that precedes something else. Your grandfather, last Tuesday, the opening chapter of a book. All antecedents. All fair game for crossword constructors looking to fill a grid.
