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
The former series, created by and starring Danny McBride, has the HBO all star up for consideration for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series alongside Emmy winner John Goodman, who plays the patriarch on the series about a world-famous televangelist family.
—
Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
Conrad Harrigan, patriarch of Paramount+’s MobLand, has built a criminal empire that — if Fisk doesn’t get to it first — could very likely outlive him.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 May 2025
Alda's beloved patriarch pops in to offer words of wisdom for Anne's friends, Kate (Fey) and Danny (Colman Domingo), both of whom are facing marital obstacles.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 6 May 2025
Nicolas Cage plays the patriarch of a family that moves to a remote farm where a glowing meteor seems to crash in the front yard.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
Conrad Harrigan, patriarch of Paramount+’s MobLand, has built a criminal empire that — if Fisk doesn’t get to it first — could very likely outlive him.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 May 2025
Alda's beloved patriarch pops in to offer words of wisdom for Anne's friends, Kate (Fey) and Danny (Colman Domingo), both of whom are facing marital obstacles.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 6 May 2025
Nicolas Cage plays the patriarch of a family that moves to a remote farm where a glowing meteor seems to crash in the front yard.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch
Noun
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If Bill Rusher was a closeted gay man, he was tucked back there in the far corner, next to his grandfather’s golf clubs.—
Neal B. Freeman,
National Review,
13 May 2025
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My grandfather ran a hotel in Sorrento, where I was born.—
Felicity Carter,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
Noun
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That misconception was the hardest thing for Jordan’s dad, Austin, to understand.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
14 May 2025
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Mandla was focused on getting his hands on the basketball while his superstar dad and big bro Kailand were posing for photos at the 3rd annual Hoop-Life FriendRaiser at Galen Center in 2015.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
People.com,
13 May 2025
Noun
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The suspect’s father told us his son had a childhood obsession with pyrotechnics In an interview with my colleague Jenny Jarvie, the suspect’s estranged father, Richard Bartkus, said the boy, then 9, set his family’s Yucca Valley home on fire.—
Hailey Branson-Potts,
Los Angeles Times,
21 May 2025
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In the early 1980s, before Will Harlan was born, his father, H. William (Bill) Harlan, was hiking in the mountains above Napa Valley and stumbled upon a hidden valley.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
Noun
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There’s also a concern about acting as if your son were a source of shame, a secret to be hidden from the paterfamilias.—
Kwame Anthony Appiah,
New York Times,
9 Aug. 2022
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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
Cite this Entry
“Patriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarch. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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