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Vanguard vs Forerunner - What's the difference?

vanguard | forerunner |

As nouns the difference between vanguard and forerunner

is that vanguard is the leading units at the front of an army or fleet while forerunner is a runner at the front or ahead.

vanguard

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • The leading units at the front of an army or fleet.
  • (by extension) The person(s) at the forefront of any group or movement.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
    • , chapter=4 citation , passage=By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.}}
  • * '>citation

    • Synonyms

    * advance guard

    Antonyms

    * rearguard

    Related terms

    * avantgarde

    forerunner

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • a runner at the front or ahead
  • (sport) by extension, a non-competitor who leads out the competitors on to the circuit, or who runs/rides the course prior to competitor trials, usually testing or checking the way.
  • a precursor or harbinger, a warning ahead
  • * '>citation
  • a forebear, an ancestor, a predecessor
  • (philately) a postage stamp used in the time before a region or area issues stamps of its own
  • something that introduces a part of the properties offered by some later thing.
    • Bakelite is a forerunner of today's plastics.