as in deans
the senior member of a group
the elder statesman of the White House correspondents is finally retiring after nearly a half century of service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 elder statesmen
The franchise’s elder statesmen understand that Jokic is an inextricable aspect of any conversation about Murray’s developing legacy.
—
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2026
Boasting 14 years of NBA experience, Middleton joins Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Dwight Powell and Jones as Dallas’ elder statesmen.
—Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
Yet the overriding feeling of Light-Years is of two elder statesmen who still have gifts to share.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2025
On a day when the last remaining Israeli hostages returned home after two years in captivity, and both Israelis and Palestinians celebrated the end of the Israel-Hamas war, many of America's elder statesmen and stateswomen kept mum.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2026
Boasting 14 years of NBA experience, Middleton joins Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Dwight Powell and Jones as Dallas’ elder statesmen.
—Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
Yet the overriding feeling of Light-Years is of two elder statesmen who still have gifts to share.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2025
On a day when the last remaining Israeli hostages returned home after two years in captivity, and both Israelis and Palestinians celebrated the end of the Israel-Hamas war, many of America's elder statesmen and stateswomen kept mum.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elder statesmen
Noun
-
Also, there are academic department consolidations under discussion with deans and faculty, the provost wrote.—
Helen I. Bennett,
Hartford Courant,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Foran forwarded the email to deans in the art college.—
Uwa Ede-Osifo,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Morris resigned from his role with the church days later, and the subsequent public comments issued by Morris, the church and its elders led to a flurry of civil litigation.—
Michelle Casady,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
In recent years, the game has seen another uptick in popularity—especially with younger players who in prior generations might have been the ones rolling their eyes at their elders’ gossipy game nights—and an increase in controversies.—
Kase Wickman,
Vanity Fair,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The qualifiers include a game streamer, a singer-songwriter and a tech entrepreneur, as well as government veterans like Asaad Alnajjar, a longtime engineer for the city.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Lastly, Vlachos had submitted a proposal to JobsOhio, the Ohio State president's office and others for a mobile job-search app for Ohio veterans, according to JobsOhio social media posts.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elder statesmen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elder%20statesmen. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
