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
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Recent Examples of matriarch
In Antoine Fuqua’s Michael, slated for release on April 24, 2026, Long plays Jackson family matriarch Katherine, with Tate as Motown Records’ Berry Gordy.
—
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
Unable to attend the hearings to hear those words were Joan and Terry, the aging family matriarchs who have never wavered in their support, the cousins said.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
Keaton became the go-to actress for family matriarchs and long-suffering wives in the years that followed, with memorable performances in The Other Sister, The Family Stone, and Town & Country.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
And one of the reasons the film doesn’t succeed is Meryl Streep’s grotesque performance as the filterless, domineering matriarch.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for matriarch
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
Unable to attend the hearings to hear those words were Joan and Terry, the aging family matriarchs who have never wavered in their support, the cousins said.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
Keaton became the go-to actress for family matriarchs and long-suffering wives in the years that followed, with memorable performances in The Other Sister, The Family Stone, and Town & Country.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
And one of the reasons the film doesn’t succeed is Meryl Streep’s grotesque performance as the filterless, domineering matriarch.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for matriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for matriarch
Noun
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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
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The empress dowager’s legacy Empress Dowager Ling was largely unsuccessful in her bid for power.—
Stephanie Balkwill,
The Conversation,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Madam Poppy Pomfrey played a vital role in the lives of Hogwarts students as a matron, who nursed the sick and injured.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
1 Sep. 2025
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The two women couldn’t be more different, but when a wealthy matron is found dead of an apparent suicide on the rocky shore of Vermont’s Lake Champlain, their fraught relationship gradually turns into a productive collaboration, despite Olivia’s missteps.—
Liza Tully,
People.com,
6 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Matriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matriarch. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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