Synonyms of father figure

father figure

noun

as in dad

an older man who acts in a paternal role to younger people

The coach was a stern, wise father figure to his players.

Related Words

• dad
• father
• father image
• pop
• old man
• daddy
• pa
• papa
• sire
• patriarch
• pater
• stepfather
• paterfamilias

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of father figure

When Urich was young, his father suffered a disabling stroke; Netanyahu became a father figure to him. — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026

Other movies would have made a religious ideal of the suffering mother, attempted to proselytize its audiences, or wallowed in the melodramatic urge for a father figure. — Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 15 Sep. 2026

Part of the team’s entire 46-year history, Unzué is the 71-year-old father figure that no one wants to let go of. — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

But that sympathy can’t quite make up for the galling fact of Nelson’s sons, now teenagers stuck in limbo as a father figure stubbornly insists on courting further ruin. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026