DOYEN Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

doyen

noun

ˈdȯi-ən

Definition of doyen

as in veteran

a person with long experience in a specified area considered the doyen of American art critics

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in dean

the senior member of a group he's the doyen of American museum directors, and his opinion has considerable weight

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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 doyen Buñuel, Bergman, Éric Rohmer, Satyajit Ray, Miloš Forman, and plenty of Andrzej Wajda and Miklós Jancsó—the Hungarian doyen of the long take. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026 Murray’s focus on tax measures in his quote may dampen expectations that the Labour government is about to improve the high-end TV tax credit, which industry doyens have been calling for for some time now. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2026 Sorkin, Kernen and Quick have been anchoring the show together for the last 14 years, with Kernen serving as the doyen of the group, going to back to its 1995 debut. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025 My first tax boss was Stephen Land, a doyen of the international tax bar in New York, now retired. — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for doyen

Recent Examples of Synonyms for doyen

Noun

Disability spans every age, race, culture and socioeconomic background, and investment in accessibility and inclusive programming tends to ripple outward, improving experiences for older adults, veterans, families and caregivers along the way.

— Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
The Panthers had already moved to protect themselves on the left side, signing veteran tackle Rasheed Walker in March as a potential replacement for Ekwonu.

— Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of veteran

Noun

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law (ACLU Presidential Prize); and Elizabeth Foster, a South Carolina advocate for the freedom to read (the also-new ACLU Next Generation Leader in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties award).

— Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 25 July 2026
Florida International University’s incoming interim law school dean wasn’t just passed over as a finalist during the university’s national search.

— Austin Horn July 24, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026

Definition of dean

Noun

Its inhabitants remain largely indifferent to the independence movement; village elders reason that freedom will benefit the educated while cultivators will merely exchange one set of masters for another.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 July 2026
Young orcas then gobbled up fish fragments that drifted through the water as their elders tore into what was left of the sunfish’s corpse.

— Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 23 July 2026

Definition of elder

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doxy

doyen

doyenne

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“Doyen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doyen. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of doyen

noun

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