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
Awkward giggles and ruthless stares punctuate silence until the blind matriarch (played by Tracy Letts) asks his daughter to describe Martha’s (Elle Fanning) appearance to him in exhaustive detail.
—
David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2026
The family’s financial concerns may be in the rearview mirror, but the Russell family matriarch may have focused too intensely on her ambitions in society than on being a wife and mother.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
That's the beloved appetizer consisting of six yellow peppers stuffed with shrimp that family matriarch Carmen Murguia brought to California from the border town of Mexicali, creating what may be the area’s most popular Mexican dish and inspiring countless imitators.
—Usa Today Network, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
The club’s walls are plastered with Puerto Rican flags and portraits of the bar’s owner and matriarch, whose real name is Maria Antonia Cay.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for matriarch
David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2026
The family’s financial concerns may be in the rearview mirror, but the Russell family matriarch may have focused too intensely on her ambitions in society than on being a wife and mother.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
That's the beloved appetizer consisting of six yellow peppers stuffed with shrimp that family matriarch Carmen Murguia brought to California from the border town of Mexicali, creating what may be the area’s most popular Mexican dish and inspiring countless imitators.
—Usa Today Network, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
The club’s walls are plastered with Puerto Rican flags and portraits of the bar’s owner and matriarch, whose real name is Maria Antonia Cay.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2026
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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Everyone's favorite gossip, Adjoa Andoh will return as Lady Danbury, the town's societal matron and unofficial matchmaker.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
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The style, penned by legendary jewelry designer Jean Schlumberger in the 1960s, has grown from a society matron’s must-have to an intelligent gentleman’s accessory.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Matriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matriarch. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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