Thesaurus results for MATRIARCH

matriarch

noun

ˈmā-trē-ˌärk

Definition of matriarch

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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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 In Leanne, the eponymous Southern matriarch is faced with starting over when her husband of 33 years leaves her for another woman. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2026 The story follows Ana, a young Black French woman who, following the death of her grandmother, travels to her matriarch’s birth city of Belo Horizonte. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 27 Aug. 2026 Typically, the trust would take out policies on the children of the patriarch or matriarch. — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026 Take Kyle Richards, the patron matriarch of Beverly Hills for 15 seasons and counting. — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 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

Definition of dowager

Noun

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
Cohran was a rarity in 1936 — a female police officer, known then as a police matron.

— CBS News, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of matron

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matins

matriarch

matriarchal

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“Matriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matriarch. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of matriarch

noun

Example Sentences

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