1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

patresfamilias

noun

plural of paterfamilias
as in patriarchs

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for patresfamilias
  1. patriarchs
  2. dads
  3. father figures
  4. old men
Noun
  • As in The History of New York, the Dutch patriarchs are invariably idle and quiescent.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The patriarchs of élite white families banded together, organizing secret paramilitaries that could be activated on a moment’s notice.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 3 July 2026
Definition of patriarchs
Noun
  • Moms and dads across the country rallied Americans to contribute research donations.
    — Adam Zimmerman, STAT, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The dads telling the dad who was thrown out to leave the beer.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of dads
Noun
  • Neill played dashing heroes, sinister villains (see The Piano), authority figures, famous figures, and father figures.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 July 2026
  • The momager, 70, marked the holiday on Sunday, June 21, by sharing a sweet photo collage featuring all the father figures in her life.
    — Clare Fisher, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026
Definition of father figures
Noun
  • And then there was Vozinha, the 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper, making his World Cup debut in a sport not inclined to celebrate old men playing for rookie nations.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • The way Luke is handling the love triangle with Joy and Gen makes Nathan and Joe look like sage old men.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 30 June 2026
Definition of old men
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pat on the back
patresfamilias
patriarch
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Patresfamilias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patresfamilias. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of watershed

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All