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
Share The patriarch of the Berenstain Bears’ family is not a wimp.
—
Gregory M. Collins, National Review, 15 June 2025
Other cast members include Ghostbusters icon Ernie Hudson, who will step up to the pulpit as Reverend Peters, the patriarch of the Silver family, and a pastor at a historic Baptist Church in Boston, according to Deadline.
—Christopher Rudolph, People.com, 14 June 2025
Hosted by pastry patriarch Duff Goldman, six teams of cake artists from around the country have four days to design, bake, and build the most impressive cake that can also withstand a 50-person taste test.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 13 June 2025
Sly Stone, beloved patriarch of Sly & The Family Stone, had died at the tender age of 82.
—Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Gregory M. Collins, National Review, 15 June 2025
Other cast members include Ghostbusters icon Ernie Hudson, who will step up to the pulpit as Reverend Peters, the patriarch of the Silver family, and a pastor at a historic Baptist Church in Boston, according to Deadline.
—Christopher Rudolph, People.com, 14 June 2025
Hosted by pastry patriarch Duff Goldman, six teams of cake artists from around the country have four days to design, bake, and build the most impressive cake that can also withstand a 50-person taste test.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 13 June 2025
Sly Stone, beloved patriarch of Sly & The Family Stone, had died at the tender age of 82.
—Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch
Noun
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His first experiences of racing came from watching the Tour de France with his grandfather.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
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Built in 1939 by Gamboa’s grandfather, the mansion marries Art Deco style with bahay kubo architecture, a traditional Filipino house on stilts.—
Jeff Chu,
Travel + Leisure,
16 June 2025
Noun
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Kai was holding the game ball from Alexander’s first win since June 23, 2022, while his dad fielded questions from reporters about his win in a spot start for the Astros against the A’s, the team that released him earlier this season.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
18 June 2025
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Ultimately, Chips was forced to kill his dad in self-defense.—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
17 June 2025
Noun
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In the future, Lisa serves as commissioner of the NBA, and Bart runs a retirement home where their widowed father Homer resides.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
26 June 2025
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But in her 20s, Mariska became aware, independently, that her biological father was an Italian nightclub entertainer named Nelson Sardelli.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 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 30 Jun. 2025.
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