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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 patriarch This, after patriarch Antonio LaSpada opened the family’s first Atlantic City hoagie shop in 1938. Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2025 The Manning family patriarch spoke about his connection and commitment to the city he's called home for over 50 years. Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2025 Tapia’s grieving family has been demanding that Anderson face upgraded charges ever since their family patriarch died. Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2025 The actor, who played patriarch Jack Pearson on the NBC drama This Is Us, and wife, Jarah Mariano, have welcomed baby Ke’ala Coral Ventimiglia, just weeks after losing their home in the Los Angeles fires. Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 1 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch
Noun
  • Journalism is part of my heritage: My great great grandfather was a Civil War correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.
    Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Brown, whose father and grandfather were both combat veterans, has held multiple combat commands and logged 130 combat hours as a fighter pilot.
    Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • My dad’s dosas were perfection—paper-thin, lacey, crispy, filling.
    Urmila Ramakrishnan, Bon Appétit, 1 Mar. 2025
  • At the start of the show, Pratt’s character Breanna ends up living with her dad for the first time after her mom moves to Nova Scotia.
    Victoria Edel, People.com, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the father of the two redheaded boys, was abducted separately during the attack, which set off Israel’s 15-month war in Gaza that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and left much of the enclave in ruins.
    Isabel Kershner, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Michael Trachtenberg is Michelle Trachtenberg’s father.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 26 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Patriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarch. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.

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