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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Recent Examples of patriarch
Married followed the dysfunctional Bundy family including shoe-selling patriarch Al (Ed O'Neill), his lazy wife Peggy (Sagal), teen daughter Kelly (Applegate), and bumbling younger son Bud (David Faustino).
—
Daysia Tolentino, EW.com, 22 July 2025
The family joined hands and had a moment of silence for their missing patriarch before the ceremony.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 7 July 2025
But the mere threat of a lawsuit opened a new chapter in the operatic relationship between Trump and Murdoch, the 93-year-old patriarch who controls the Journal, Fox News and other conservative media brands.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 17 July 2025
But this summer, MacLean is stepping (slightly) outside romance with her These Summer Storms, out now, an inheritance drama about the secrets of a wealthy family on the coast of Rhode Island and the fallout following the death of their patriarch (think Succession).
—Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Daysia Tolentino, EW.com, 22 July 2025
The family joined hands and had a moment of silence for their missing patriarch before the ceremony.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 7 July 2025
But the mere threat of a lawsuit opened a new chapter in the operatic relationship between Trump and Murdoch, the 93-year-old patriarch who controls the Journal, Fox News and other conservative media brands.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 17 July 2025
But this summer, MacLean is stepping (slightly) outside romance with her These Summer Storms, out now, an inheritance drama about the secrets of a wealthy family on the coast of Rhode Island and the fallout following the death of their patriarch (think Succession).
—Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patriarch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patriarch
Noun
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This is all thanks to Jane Blaffer Owen an oil heiress from Houston (her father was one of the founders of a company that’s now ExxonMobil and her grandfather established the company that ultimately became Texaco), whose husband, Kenneth Dale Owen was a descendent of New Harmony’s founders.—
Rima Suqi,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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Back in November 2023, Johnson proudly showed off that his granddaughter had dressed up just like her NBA player grandfather.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
24 July 2025
Noun
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Frank was a working dad who was struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts at the time.—
Yola Robert,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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Pete Davidson expecting first child with partner And the comedian is overjoyed to be entering his dad era.—
Jade Walker,
CNN Money,
24 July 2025
Noun
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The son of Joseph, a Native Hawaiian painter, and Coni, an artist largely of European descent, he was born in Honolulu but mostly raised by his mother in Iowa while spending several summers in Hawaii with his father.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
1 Aug. 2025
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His father, Santiago Jiménez Sr., and grandfather, Patricio Jiménez, were stewards of traditional conjunto music.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
1 Aug. 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 7 Aug. 2025.
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