Definition of matriarchnext
as in dowager
a dignified usually elderly woman of some rank or authority even though she was 87, the matriarch of the family knew everything that was going on

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of matriarch The matriarch urges the headstrong girl to be more ambitious and ingratiating – in order to attract a good husband. — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2026 In the film, Long portrays Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family, alongside Oscar nominee Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson and Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew, as the king of pop. — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026 Those losses also led him to bond with Daisy, the matriarch of the deer family that live on and around the property. — Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026 The streamer and Shondaland announced Thursday that an untitled spinoff about the early life of the future matriarch of the Bridgerton clan is in the works. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for matriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for matriarch
Noun
  • The show’s underpinned by the differences in character and country of Lady Cora and her formidable mother-in-law, the dowager Countess Violet Crawley, played by the equally formidable and much missed Dame Maggie Smith.
    — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 22 July 2025
  • The empress dowager’s legacy Empress Dowager Ling was largely unsuccessful in her bid for power.
    — Stephanie Balkwill, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Investigators also found that the bus matron, who had nearly 20 years of experience, made no effort to communicate with the driver or contact the school.
    — Doug Williams, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • An extremely unattractive teenage girl who resembled a forty-year-old matron in a women’s prison rather than a young woman fresh on the road to self-discovery approached me.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Matriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matriarch. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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