Thesaurus results for PATRIARCH

patriarch

noun

Definition of patriarch

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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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.

Recent Examples of patriarch That is, Lamashtu spoke out about something that angered and disgusted the divine patriarch, and she was cast down to earth. — Eleanor Johnson, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 In the early years of Mormonism, polygamy was understood to reinstate the patriarchal and polygamous cultural norms of the Hebrew patriarchs, as depicted in the Hebrew Bible. — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026 First there’s Iya Segi (Iyabo Ojo), the authority in the house, to whom everyone except the patriarch must bow; the other women must seek her approval for their wants and needs. — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026 Romano plays the family’s patriarch and Rita Wilson plays the deceased matriarch. — Peter White, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for patriarch

Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch

Noun

The job-for-life that Fink remembers looked a lot like the one Farley went on to describe about his own grandfather, who worked for Ford.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
But where John Steinbeck’s novel and the 1955 film made by Kazan’s grandfather Elia Kazan render her as a cipher, the embodiment of an unknowable evil, the Netflix version gives her far more texture and context.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of grandfather

Noun

Sisters Barani and Malu were born to first-time mom Ndari and dad Rakan at the Fort Worth Zoo on July 1 and weigh about 18 to 20 pounds each, or about the same as a large pumpkin, 13 weeks later.

— Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Now dad and mom, who have been transporting them around for years in club softball, will have to begin looking for the cheapest flights to Tallahassee.

— Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of dad

Noun

Ellison clinched the deal by sweetening the offer price and bringing his father, Larry Ellison, in to personally guarantee funding.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
Gyllenhaal’s father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a director and her mother, Naomi Foner, a screenwriter.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of father

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“Patriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarch. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of patriarch

noun

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