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
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter for an interview published Wednesday, May 13, the 56-year-old actor — who wore heavy prosthetics, contacts and more to transform into the Jackson family patriarch — admitted that starring in the biopic about the King of Pop had its difficulties.
—
Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026
Brown’s patriarch is the embodiment of that unbalanced relationship, causing chaos and expecting more love and forgiveness in return.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
The patriarch’s decision to resettle in the United States had been predicated on the promise that his family would be together.
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 12 May 2026
When Lee Kun-hee, the patriarch behind Samsung Electronics Co. died in 2020, his dynasty soon dealt with a crisis on two fronts: first, a multi-billion-dollar inheritance tax.
—Filipe Pacheco, Bloomberg, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026
Brown’s patriarch is the embodiment of that unbalanced relationship, causing chaos and expecting more love and forgiveness in return.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
The patriarch’s decision to resettle in the United States had been predicated on the promise that his family would be together.
—Dan Barry, New York Times, 12 May 2026
When Lee Kun-hee, the patriarch behind Samsung Electronics Co. died in 2020, his dynasty soon dealt with a crisis on two fronts: first, a multi-billion-dollar inheritance tax.
—Filipe Pacheco, Bloomberg, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch
Noun
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The murder trial was the capstone to a remarkable fall from grace for the personal injury lawyer, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as the local prosecutor consecutively from 1920 to 2006.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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In November 2013, Scott Hopkins -- now 67 years old and a grandfather -- goes on trial for the murder of Janet Walsh in 1979.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Noun
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Instead of feeling alone, their daughter suddenly had her dad right beside her — with his own crazy hairstyle to match.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
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Everybody’s got a dad, everybody’s got a mom, lots of people have sons and daughters, people are in relationships.—
Derek Lawrence,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Noun
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Wilson’s father was a Presbyterian minister, and Wilson read the Bible daily.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
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The backstory The property was built in 1835 as a private home for Sarah Lydia Robbins Howe, whose father Edward Hutchinson Robbins served as Massachusetts’ sixth lieutenant governor.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Patriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarch. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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