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
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
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
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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
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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
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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At least four of the detainees whose families spoke with the Herald are fathers to children 5 years old or younger.—
Claire Healy,
Miami Herald,
26 Feb. 2025
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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
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
Cite this Entry
“Patriarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patriarch. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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