as in grandfather
a man who is the head of a family
Investors worried that the aging patriarch was soon to be replaced atop the family business by his less reliable oldest son.
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Recent Examples of patriarch
And just the fact that a family like that could be capable of all these horrific things and especially the patriarch who is, like, in charge of a local government.
—
Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Stars from Christmas Vacation and the original National Lampoon's Vacation reunited at a panel at Chicago Fan Expo earlier this month, where Randy Quaid and Beverly D'Angelo both recalled the Fletch star's difficulties portraying bumbling patriarch Clark Griswold during the 1989 holiday sequel.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Leo drew attention to a joint statement by the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem, who announced that the priests and nuns in the two Christian churches in Gaza City would stay put, despite Israeli evacuation orders ahead of the Gaza City offensive.
—Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
The ladle in a kitchen drawer leads her to the Big Dipper and Joseph’s pit and the wells dug by the patriarchs in the book of Genesis.
—Ilana Kurshan, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Stars from Christmas Vacation and the original National Lampoon's Vacation reunited at a panel at Chicago Fan Expo earlier this month, where Randy Quaid and Beverly D'Angelo both recalled the Fletch star's difficulties portraying bumbling patriarch Clark Griswold during the 1989 holiday sequel.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Leo drew attention to a joint statement by the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem, who announced that the priests and nuns in the two Christian churches in Gaza City would stay put, despite Israeli evacuation orders ahead of the Gaza City offensive.
—Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
The ladle in a kitchen drawer leads her to the Big Dipper and Joseph’s pit and the wells dug by the patriarchs in the book of Genesis.
—Ilana Kurshan, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch
Noun
-
In 1943, when the Mississippi tore away from its banks and charted a fierce and muddy course across America’s central farmlands, Gerard’s grandfather, Harold Gerard, had already fled the waters once.—
Julia Rendleman,
ProPublica,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The film will follow a young boy sent to spend a summer with his charismatic and wildly eccentric grandfather on a remote Welsh farm.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The best scene partner and dad in the world.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
-
One of the three siblings had been with their dad at the time of the incident and was placed in police custody following the shootout, officials said at the time.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Chilean-American actress and singer did not reveal the age of her child or the identity of the father.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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His father taught him that a husband provides, a wife takes care of children.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In a sense this is a classic family drama: the struggle over the paterfamilias’s legacy, complete with allegations of late-in-life changes to the will.—
Benjamin Soskis,
Town & Country,
27 Oct. 2022
-
Schumer’s actions as paterfamilias of Senate Democrats are often informed by his New York sensibilities.—
Grace Segers,
The New Republic,
13 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Patriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarch. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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