as in elder statesman
the senior member of a group
the revered éminence grise of Civil War historians
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Recent Examples of éminence grise
But none have matched JPMorgan, which, under the leadership of Wall Street’s eminence grise Jamie Dimon, has thrived.
—
Paolo Confino, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2024
Belafonte was 57, an eminence grise in entertainment, and his participation motivated lots of artists who admired him.
—Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024
Federer serving in the Sinatra/Clooney part as the eminence grise.
—Jason Gay, WSJ, 24 Sep. 2022
That emotionally astute author, the eminence grise, the institutional memory.
—Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2021
Matthews is an eminence grise of television news, his pugilistic and red-cheeked persona familiar to viewers from countless election nights.
—BostonGlobe.com, 2 Mar. 2020
In the world of the candle obsessed, Diptyque is the eminence grise.
—Kathleen Hou, The Cut, 16 Jan. 2018
Paolo Confino, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2024
Belafonte was 57, an eminence grise in entertainment, and his participation motivated lots of artists who admired him.
—Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024
Federer serving in the Sinatra/Clooney part as the eminence grise.
—Jason Gay, WSJ, 24 Sep. 2022
That emotionally astute author, the eminence grise, the institutional memory.
—Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2021
Matthews is an eminence grise of television news, his pugilistic and red-cheeked persona familiar to viewers from countless election nights.
—BostonGlobe.com, 2 Mar. 2020
In the world of the candle obsessed, Diptyque is the eminence grise.
—Kathleen Hou, The Cut, 16 Jan. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for éminence grise
Noun
-
The Rangers need another strong campaign from the two elder statesmen on the starting staff.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
The veterans were essentially reclamation projects.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
Built in the 17th century under King Louis XIV, the National Institution of Invalides houses dozens of residents — among them military veterans, Holocaust survivors and civilian victims of conflicts and attacks who receive long-term, medically supervised care.—
Sylvie Corbet,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Aleksandar Tomic, an economist and the associate dean for strategy, innovation, and technology at Boston College, told Fortune SpaceX’s prospectus leaves much up to the imagination.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
24 May 2026
-
Felicia Townsend, dean of the school, will serve as the moderator.—
Melinda Moore,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
Dern replaced Carter as some sort of actress perhaps resenting her elder-stateswoman status.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
27 May 2026
-
For Obery Hendricks, an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church who teaches religion at Columbia University, the dissonance is both aesthetic and religious.—
Jason DeRose,
NPR,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“éminence grise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/%C3%A9minence%20grise. Accessed 28 May. 2026.
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