variants
or fuehrer
as in dictator
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
a nation that has suffered under the yoke of one führer after another, never knowing the freedoms of a democracy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of führer
Adolf and Eva refer to Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, and at one point, McCarthy took me into the main nave of the studio and showed me a sculpture of the führer, set to be installed at the Journal Gallery show.
—
Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 25 Feb. 2026
Daalder was alluding to Britain’s early World War II prime minister who was widely criticized for appeasing Hitler as the German fuhrer marched across Europe.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2025
Overseas, Adolf Hitler was the fuhrer of Germany, and his persecution of Jews became even more apparent after Kristallnacht, in November 1938, when the Nazi regime went on an antisemitic rampage.
—Robert Gudmestad, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2024
Hermann Goering, Hitler’s air force chief and deputy fuhrer, was, says the judge, highly intelligent.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Oct. 2021
Yorki is Jojo's best friend and, outside the imaginary fuhrer, his closest confidant.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2019
In 1933, deputy fuhrer Rudolf Hess ordered Heinz Spanknobel, a German immigrant, to form Friends of New Germany, a group based in NYC, with the goal of spreading National Socialism throughout the United States.
—Matt Giles, Longreads, 13 Aug. 2017
Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 25 Feb. 2026
Daalder was alluding to Britain’s early World War II prime minister who was widely criticized for appeasing Hitler as the German fuhrer marched across Europe.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2025
Overseas, Adolf Hitler was the fuhrer of Germany, and his persecution of Jews became even more apparent after Kristallnacht, in November 1938, when the Nazi regime went on an antisemitic rampage.
—Robert Gudmestad, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2024
Hermann Goering, Hitler’s air force chief and deputy fuhrer, was, says the judge, highly intelligent.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Oct. 2021
Yorki is Jojo's best friend and, outside the imaginary fuhrer, his closest confidant.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Oct. 2019
In 1933, deputy fuhrer Rudolf Hess ordered Heinz Spanknobel, a German immigrant, to form Friends of New Germany, a group based in NYC, with the goal of spreading National Socialism throughout the United States.
—Matt Giles, Longreads, 13 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for führer
Noun
-
In the post-colonial era, Arab dictators established secular laws, but these legal systems favored the ruling clique.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
-
In 1991 more than half a million Americans served in Operation Desert Storm, an allied campaign that freed Kuwait from the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The lesson of history is that appeasement and hope are not a strategy against a bloodthirsty tyrant.—
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal,
Hartford Courant,
28 Feb. 2026
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Aspiring tyrants inevitably promise security and food on the table.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Führer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/f%C3%BChrer. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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