as in dean
the senior member of a group
the elder statesman of the White House correspondents is finally retiring after nearly a half century of service
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Recent Examples of elder statesman
But rather than discard the 39th president in damnatio memoriae, Carter's decades-long post-presidency proved fertile ground for his rehabilitation as an elder statesman.
—
George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
Coates was an elder statesman of sorts in the Oath Keepers, a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran with a Hulk Hogan mustache.
—Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica, 4 Jan. 2025
Carter’s image as a kindly elder statesman, friend to world Jewry and bulwark of Israel’s security took an immediate beating.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Cash actually makes an appearance in A Complete Unknown, more as a hell-raising elder statesman, portrayed this time by Boyd Holbrook (who worked with Mangold on Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny).
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for elder statesman 
George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
Coates was an elder statesman of sorts in the Oath Keepers, a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran with a Hulk Hogan mustache.
—Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica, 4 Jan. 2025
Carter’s image as a kindly elder statesman, friend to world Jewry and bulwark of Israel’s security took an immediate beating.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Cash actually makes an appearance in A Complete Unknown, more as a hell-raising elder statesman, portrayed this time by Boyd Holbrook (who worked with Mangold on Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny).
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for elder statesman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elder statesman
Noun
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The other two finalists in the presidential search are Michael Hartline, the dean of the College of Business at Florida State University, and John Volin, executive vice president and provost at the University of Maine.—
Jessica Abramsky,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2025
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In the movie, Cardinal Lawrence, the beleaguered dean of the College of Cardinals, is tasked with keeping all the melodrama in check.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
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It's also left his Gen X elders waiting in the wings.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
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Sean also leaned on other gurus in wellness, like Deepak Chopra, Jay Shetty and even unexpected ones like Jay-Z. Additional support came from wise elders in his family, like his mom, in creating this interactive guidebook.—
Victoria Uwumarogie,
Essence,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
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At a recent school board meeting, Ray Joachim’s salary as an assistant instructor for veterans’ training class was increased to $250 per month.—
Contributed Content,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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Gutierrez, a 15-year veteran with the Forest Service on hotshot crews and engines, said thousands of firefighters on probationary status are at risk of termination, as well.—
Jacob Soboroff,
NBC News,
7 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near elder statesman
Cite this Entry
“Elder statesman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elder%20statesman. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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