patriarchal

adjective

Definition of patriarchalnext
1
as in clerical

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in older

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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 patriarchal Our ideas of surrogacy are based on a patriarchal notion that the essence of the baby is in the seed. — Torie Bosch, STAT, 5 Sep. 2026 In a sign of their lasting impact, Iranian director Mohsen Gharaei arrives in Venice this year with Falling House, a prophetic work warning of the crisis building in Iran after decades of oppressive, patriarchal rule by the Islamic Republic regime. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026 In her 1974 novel The Hearing Trumpet, a nonagenarian vegetarian heroine named Marian rebels against patriarchal institutions. — Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026 The paternal-line male succession was stipulated for the first time in the 1890 Imperial House Law, when Japan promoted patriarchal systems. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for patriarchal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarchal
  1. clerical
  2. geriatric
  3. apostolic
  4. elderly
  5. priestly
  6. senior
  7. papal
  8. matriarchal
Adjective
  • Men in clerical jobs were paid $5,000 a year more than women.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The civilian staff of roughly 1,400 would grow by 120 slots — a mix of clerical and tech positions and staff for the county’s 911 center.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of clerical
Adjective
  • Somebody like Gilroy or Jeff Kober and Barry Corbin (popping up occasionally as a pair of geriatric gangsters) will come and go in situations knowingly designed to feel contrived.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Ossoff, seen as a potential 2028 contender, said geriatric politicians have little comprehension of AI technology.
    — Jill Colvin, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of geriatric
Adjective
  • On June 2, 1979, Pope John Paul II set out from Rome on an apostolic journey, as papal trips away from the Vatican are called.
    — Paul Elie, New Yorker, 8 May 2026
  • The leader of the Roman Catholic Church directed his remarks to university students at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, during an 11-day apostolic journey in Africa.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
Definition of apostolic
Adjective
  • Their chaotic path eventually brings them to a wealthy elderly woman who is blind.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But on that Sunday in 2024, Wagner spoke to a nearly empty church — about 12 elderly members, sitting far apart from one another in a sanctuary built for a thousand people.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of elderly
Adjective
  • The Illinois native returned to his priestly roots with his last TV appearance as Father Tobias on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives.
    — Rachel Flynn, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Parsi priesthood is hereditary, meaning all the boys here have been born into priestly families.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 21 June 2026
Definition of priestly
Adjective
  • Programming director Ichiyama Shozo leads the selection alongside senior programmer Ishizaka Kenji, who oversees Asian Future.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Gordon Noble, the paper’s senior author and an archeologist at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, says that the evidence of craftworking is particularly exciting.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of senior
Adjective
  • In Lourdes, a holy site in southern France, around 150,000 attended an open-air papal Mass, according to Vatican estimates which dwarf the numbers of faithful who turned out for the last papal visit in 2008.
    — Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The South Side team even had a theme night in August dedicated to the Pope, where fans at Rate Field were given replica papal-style hats featuring the Sox logo in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.
    — Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of papal
Adjective
  • Lemurs also have complex social hierarchies and are uniquely matriarchal for primates.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 July 2026
  • Sinclaire has an agent for a memoir, and Gonzalez is thinking about writing a book about matriarchal communities.
    — Kayla Levy, Curbed, 25 June 2026
Definition of matriarchal

Browse Nearby Words

patriarch
patriarchal
patriarchs
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Cite this Entry

“Patriarchal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarchal. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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