predecessor
One before you
A predecessor is someone or something that came before another in a position, sequence, or role.
A company's new CEO studies the decisions of her predecessor.
A predecessor can also be an earlier version of something: The smartphone's predecessor was the flip phone.
The word implies replacement or succession—what exists now has taken the predecessor's place.
Predecessor in lineage
- forebearAncestral family member
- forefatherAncestor from generations past
- progenitorAncestor or originator
- antecedentSomething that precedes
genealogy · heritage · lineage · bloodline · ancestry · descent · patriarch · matriarch
Previously holding a position
- previousOccurring before another
- priorExisting before another
- antecedentSomething that precedes
- foregoingPreviously mentioned or stated
preceding · earlier · outgoing · past · erstwhile · departing · retired · supplanted
One that comes before
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- precursorSomething that comes first
- pathfinderOne who discovers routes
groundbreaker · innovator · trendsetter · originator · vanguard · harbinger · herald · avant-garde
Replaced by something newer
- outdatedNo longer in use
- antiquatedOld and outdated
- outmodedNo longer in fashion
- replacedRemoved and substituted
deprecated · discontinued · retired · phased out · legacy · bygone · displaced · supplanted
What's passed down
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
- templatePreset pattern for reproduction
blueprint · benchmark · model · example · standard · basis · inspiration · source
ancestor
Predecessor in lineage
- forebearAncestral family member
- forefatherAncestor from generations past
- progenitorAncestor or originator
antecedent · genealogy · heritage · lineage · bloodline · ancestry · descent · patriarch · matriarch · primogenitor
former
Previously holding a position
- previousOccurring before another
- priorExisting before another
- antecedentSomething that precedes
foregoing · preceding · earlier · outgoing · past · erstwhile · departing · retired · supplanted · replaced
forerunner
One that comes before
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- precursorSomething that comes first
pathfinder · groundbreaker · innovator · trendsetter · originator · vanguard · harbinger · herald · avant-garde · bellwether
superseded
Replaced by something newer
- outdatedNo longer in use
- antiquatedOld and outdated
- outmodedNo longer in fashion
replaced · deprecated · discontinued · retired · phased out · legacy · bygone · displaced · supplanted
legacy
What's passed down
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
template · blueprint · benchmark · model · example · standard · basis · inspiration · source · touchstone
- successionheir apparent, heir presumptive, line of succession, primogeniture, successor
- order theorylattice, upper bound, lower bound, comparable, incomparable
- patent transfersassignee, assignor, title transfer, patent holder, rights holder
- ancestryancestors, kinship, ancestor, clan, ancestry
- Former Rolesex-president, ex-wife, ex-husband, ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend
- influencesparents, mentors, teachers, friends, peers
predecessorsuccessor
One who replaces another
heir · follower · replacement · next in line · inheritor
predecessordescendant
Person from earlier generations
descendent · offspring · progeny · scion · son
predecessorderivative
Function's rate of change
outgrowth · offshoot · by-product · spin-off · sequel