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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patriarch
After the patriarch died, Kelly continued the legacy of the Southern Gospel group.
—
Charna Flam, People.com, 3 Feb. 2025
That would amount to a massive windfall, even inside the Trump family, where the patriarch has refused to hand off significant chunks of his assets for years, leaving his heirs with less than $100 million apiece.
—Dan Alexander, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2025
Sanford as Louise Jefferson, along with Mike Evans as their son Lionel, had been semi-regulars since 1971, but Hemsley, whom Lear wanted as the family patriarch, wasn’t available until 1973.
—Jim McKairnes, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
Lavar Ball, the patriarch of the family, is a blustering boxing promoter of a personality, and brothers LaMelo and Lonzo Ball are successful NBA players who will be in the public consciousness for the foreseeable future.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for patriarch 
Charna Flam, People.com, 3 Feb. 2025
That would amount to a massive windfall, even inside the Trump family, where the patriarch has refused to hand off significant chunks of his assets for years, leaving his heirs with less than $100 million apiece.
—Dan Alexander, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2025
Sanford as Louise Jefferson, along with Mike Evans as their son Lionel, had been semi-regulars since 1971, but Hemsley, whom Lear wanted as the family patriarch, wasn’t available until 1973.
—Jim McKairnes, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
Lavar Ball, the patriarch of the family, is a blustering boxing promoter of a personality, and brothers LaMelo and Lonzo Ball are successful NBA players who will be in the public consciousness for the foreseeable future.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for patriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch
Noun
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The local carry-out spot, now run by third-generation owner Jermaine Blackmon, was originally opened in 1952 by his grandfather.—
Chyna Blackmon,
Charlotte Observer,
18 Feb. 2025
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Over breakfast on the day after the announcement was made, Venetia’s grandfather was reading the account of the new planet aloud from the paper and the young girl straightaway recommended the name Pluto, the ruler of the underworld.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The apple of snooty mom Victoria's (Parker Posey) eye, who works the family finance business with his dad Timothy (Jason Isaacs), party-loving pool cretin Saxon is this season's poster boy for misguided masculinity.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
19 Feb. 2025
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Fang Di has spent her entire professional career repaying family debts, those incurred by both her factory-operating mom (Peng Jing) and Tian Tian’s drug-addict dad (Zhou You) back in Chongqing, city of copycat fashion and first-class hotpot.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The boy’s father, Nicolas Barcet, is accused of chasing his son around their home in St. Petersburg, then binding the boy from his shoulders to his feet and leaving him alone in his room, according an arrest affidavit obtained by the Daily News.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
14 Feb. 2025
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Jojo Gonzalez is endearing and funny as Kisa’s grieving father, Isamu (as well as Isamu’s no-nonsense brother).—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Feb. 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
Thesaurus Entries Near patriarch
Cite this Entry
“Patriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarch. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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