patriarchy

noun

pa·​tri·​ar·​chy ˈpā-trē-ˌär-kē 

plural patriarchies

1

: social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line

broadly : control by men of a disproportionately large share of power

2

: a society or institution organized according to the principles or practices of patriarchy

For 20 years the country was ruled as a patriarchy.

Examples of patriarchy in a Sentence

For 20 years, the country was ruled as a patriarchy.

a region in which patriarchy is practiced

Recent Examples on the Web

Only those blind to the reality of patriarchy as a violent agenda would consider critique and pushback to it as an agenda of its own. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2025

Her main goal: to rescue from oblivion all those women artists whose genius was erased by the relentless hand of patriarchy. —The Glamour Editors, Glamour, 8 Mar. 2025

The British Zambian writer-director’s new story, however, is more psychologically concentrated on individual pain and cultural power, specifically the damage that sin and silence wreak in matriarchal societies that internalize patriarchy. —Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2025

The study framed their feelings as internal failings rather than responses to external pressures, such as patriarchy and white supremacy, which drive perfectionism. —Shari Dunn, TIME, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for patriarchy

• hierarchy
• matriarchy
• oligarchy
• arche
• sparky
• autarky
• menarche

Kids Definition

patriarchy

noun

pa·​tri·​ar·​chy ˈpā-trē-ˌär-kē 

plural patriarchies

1

: social organization in which the father is head of the family and ancestry and inheritance are traced in the male line

2

: a society organized according to the principles of patriarchy